- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
- Biden-Netanyahu to talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- France vows to step up drugs fight after police vehicles torched
- Air France says jet flew over Iraq during Iran attack on Israel
- Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- Let 'Emily in Paris' remain in Paris, Macron says
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
RIO | -0.54% | 66.305 | $ | |
BTI | 0.95% | 35.559 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.28% | 24.71 | $ | |
SCS | 2.7% | 13.135 | $ | |
BCC | 0.88% | 143.28 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.01% | 24.85 | $ | |
JRI | 0.36% | 13.208 | $ | |
BP | -0.2% | 31.965 | $ | |
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
NGG | -0.12% | 65.82 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
BCE | -0.13% | 33.465 | $ | |
GSK | 0.91% | 38.37 | $ | |
AZN | 0.31% | 77.11 | $ | |
RELX | 0.05% | 46.665 | $ | |
VOD | 0.77% | 9.735 | $ |
Record rainfall, flooding in Seoul kill seven
Subway stations and major roads were underwater in the South Korean capital Seoul after record-breaking rains caused severe flooding, with at least seven people dead and seven more missing, officials said Tuesday.
Authorities warned there was more rain to come even as emergency workers struggled to clear the hulks of flooded cars, which AFP reporters saw strewn across major intersections throughout the city.
Dramatic images shared on social media late Monday showed people wading through waist-deep water, metro stations overflowing, and cars half-submerged in Seoul's posh Gangnam district, which was particularly hard-hit when torrential rain battered the city.
The downpour that began Monday is the heaviest rainfall in South Korea in 80 years, according to Seoul's Yonhap News Agency.
"At least seven people died in the Seoul metropolitan area, while seven others are missing, due to heavy rain," an official at Seoul's interior ministry told AFP.
Local reports said three people living in a banjiha -- cramped basement flats of the kind made famous in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" -- including a teenager, died as their apartment was inundated by floodwaters.
- Climate change -
President Yoon Suk-yeol blamed the record rainfall on climate change and said the government needed to adapt.
"The government must review the current disaster management system from square one, given that abnormal weather caused by climate change is becoming a part of everyday life," he said.
"We should respond all out until the situation is over in order to protect the precious people's lives and property and take steps until the end, until the people feel that they are enough."
But Yoon, who has seen his approval rating plummet to just 24 percent since taking office in May, according to the latest Gallup Korea poll, was facing online criticism for failing to go to the government's emergency control center late Monday.
Local media reported his absence was due to flooding in his area, but Yoon's office denied that was a factor, saying he had decided to stay home as his team, including the prime minister, already had the response in hand.
Yoon still lives in his pre-election accommodation, having declined to move into the presidential Blue House, which he has decried as "imperial" and opened to the public as a park.
"Why did you leave the Blue House" became a trending topic online, as netizens shared videos purportedly showing flooding at his residence alongside mocking comments.
- Gangnam floods -
Gangnam, a wealthy district in southern Seoul -- featured in Psy's 2012 K-pop hit "Gangnam Style" -- received 326.5 millimetres of rainfall on Monday, data from the Korea Meteorological Administration showed.
"Gangnam is said to be the centre of the economy and well developed, but it is ironic that it is so vulnerable to natural disasters," 45-year-old office worker Moon Yong-chun told AFP as he tried to rescue his car from a flooded car park.
"I am shocked by the damage. The same thing happened around 11 years ago, and it is sad that the government has not taken any measures," he added.
The Korea Meteorological Administration warned South Koreans to "be careful of the heavy rain, gusts, as well as thunder and lightning in the central region" for the next few days.
The KMA also said that up to 300 more millimetres of rain was forecast for the central region that includes Seoul through Thursday.
Transportation in South Korea remained highly disrupted Tuesday, with many roads and tunnels closed for safety reasons, Yonhap reported.
Power outages were also reported across the capital late Monday, while some operation of the Seoul metro and railway services was temporarily disrupted by the heavy rain.
Hiking trails at many of the country's national parks were closed and passenger ferry routes, including from Incheon port, were suspended.
C.Garcia--AMWN