SEOUL: Torrential rain in South Korea triggered a landslide that killed a one-year-old baby and forced hundreds of families to evacuate as it flooded roads and bridges, authorities said on Friday (Jun 30).
The death was the second since the summer rainy season began on Tuesday, after a landslide buried the baby’s home in the southeastern city of Yeongju overnight.
Rescuers pulled to safety nine people in the home when the 10-ton landslide hit, as fire authorities deployed more than 40 vehicles and 110 firefighters, media said. But the baby died soon after being sent to hospital.
Yeongju was among the hardest hit by the monsoon, with more than 284 mm of rain since midnight on Thursday, said disaster officials, who have also declared heavy rain warnings elsewhere in the south, including the island of Jeju.