Torrential downpours of up to nearly 150 millimeters per hour battered the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon, on August 13, flooding homes and roads, leaving residents stranded or forcing emergency evacuations, and halting train services. In Gimpo and Incheon, two drivers were killed.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) and the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), between midnight and 9 p.m. that day, rainfall totals reached 248.5 millimeters in Gimpo, 233.5 millimeters in Jukyo, Goyang, and 218.5 millimeters in Jangheung-myeon, Yangju. In Incheon, rainfall exceeded 200 millimeters in several areas, including 255.5 millimeters on Yeongjongdo Island and 233.5 millimeters in Gyeongseo-dong. On Deokjeokdo Island in Ongjin County, Incheon, 149.2 millimeters of rain fell in a single hour from 8:14 a.m., a record for the area. In Hyeoncheon-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang, 105.0 millimeters of rain fell between 11 a.m. and noon.

According to Gimpo Fire Station, a report was received at midday from Daebocheon Stream in Gochon-eup, Gimpo, saying, “The car is being swept away, and the door won’t open.” Police and fire authorities located the vehicle at 5:55 p.m., about 1 kilometer downstream from the accident site, after more than five hours of searching. The driver, believed to be a man in his 80s, was rescued from the back seat using ropes and other equipment, but was found dead.

Earlier, at around 7:20 a.m., a car driven by a man in his 40s skidded on a rain-slick road and plunged into a lake in Unseo-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon. The vehicle was recovered by police and firefighters, but the driver was pronounced dead.

In Maseong Tunnel on the Yeongdong Expressway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, a soccer school bus carrying children overturned. Of the 19 people on board, including the driver, six were injured, two of them seriously. In Naegok-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang, six people were trapped in a flooded greenhouse and were rescued by 119 emergency personnel. In Mansong-dong, Yangju, three cars were flooded, and four people escaped.

As of 1 p.m., Incheon had received 210 reports of flood-related damage. Roads around Incheon Station on the Gyeongin Line (Seoul Subway Line 1) were submerged and closed to traffic, and flooding on the tracks caused a temporary suspension of train service between Juan and Bupyeong stations. In Incheon’s Seo-gu, Jeongseojin Central Market and Gangnam Market were flooded, prompting evacuations of people in basement areas. In Gyeonggi Province, train services on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line and Gyeongwon Line were temporarily suspended due to the heavy rain before being restored.

The Korea Forest Service raised the landslide risk alert to its highest “serious” level across Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangwon Province at 7:30 p.m. Evacuation orders were issued for residents near rivers at risk of overflowing, including Pocheoncheon Stream’s Pocheon Bridge, Songcheon Bridge in Dongducheon, and Shinu Bridge in Paju.

In Seoul, access was restricted to all 29 streams as water levels rose. A flood warning was issued for the Jungnang Bridge area of Jungnangcheon Stream in Dongdaemun-gu. In Yeonsinnae, Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, streets were temporarily submerged in muddy water, and a large sinkhole appeared on the access road to Doseonsa Temple in Ui-dong, Gangbuk-gu.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters increased its emergency response level to Level 2. Forecast rainfall through August 14 is 50 to 150 millimeters (up to 200 millimeters in some areas) for the Seoul metropolitan area and the five islands in the West Sea, 30 to 100 millimeters (up to 150 millimeters or more in parts of the central and northern inland) for inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon Province, 30 to 80 millimeters for northern part of South Chungcheong Province, and central and northern parts of North Chungcheong Province, and 20 to 60 millimeters for Daejeon, Sejong, southern part of South Chungcheong Province, and southern part of North Chungcheong Province.