SEOUL: Heavy rain in South Korea has killed at least 17 people in recent days, government records showed on Sunday, while 11 remain unaccounted for in the intense downpours.

South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July and is usually well-prepared. But this week, the country’s southern regions were hit with some of the heaviest hourly rainfall on record, according to official data.

There was also a dangerous deluge in the north early on Sunday, with close to 170 millimetres (6.7 inches) of rain hitting Gapyeong county in Gyeonggi province, east of the capital Seoul, leaving at least two dead and five missing.

The number of casualties rose throughout the day as bodies of those previously reported missing — many swept away in landslides — were recovered.

A woman in her 70s was killed when her house collapsed in a landslide, while the body of a man in his 40s was found near a bridge after he drowned, Yonhap news agency reported.

Southern county of Sancheong receives 800 millimetres of rain since Wednesday

The total number of deaths from the five-day deluge now stands at at least 17, with 11 missing, according to interior ministry data as of Sunday evening. Most of the deaths occurred in the southern county of Sancheong, which has seen nearly 800 millimetres of rain since Wednesday.

With the bodies of those who had gone missing retrieved on Sunday, the number of deaths in the rural county of 33,000 rose to 10, with four still unaccounted for. Scientists say climate change has made extreme weather events more frequent and intense around the world.

In 2022, South Korea endured record-breaking rains and flooding, which killed at least 11 people. They included three people who died trapped in a Seoul basement apartment of the kind that became internationally known because of the Oscar-winning Korean film Parasite.

The government said at the time that the rainfall was the heaviest since records began, blaming climate change for the extreme weather.

A landslide hit a campsite in Gapyeong, leaving a man in his 40s dead, two family members missing and 24 other people stranded, fire authorities said.

One person was rescued near the campsite by a zip-line across a raging river, according to footage released by fire officials. In another video, a helicopter is seen airlifting a person to safety.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered a swift assessment of the damage and the prompt designation of special disaster zones to increase state support.

The rainfall is likely to stop on Sunday and be followed by a heat wave, the government weather forecaster said on Sunday.

The heavy rainfall, which had earlier lashed southern parts of South Korea, moved north overnight, it said.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2025