China News Agency, Seoul, August 9th: Directly on the heavy rain in South Korea: subway stations closed, Han River water level rising

  China News Agency reporter Liu Xu

  On the 8th local time, the capital area of ​​South Korea was hit by heavy rain.

According to statistics from the Korea Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of 10 am local time on the 9th, the torrential rain has caused 8 deaths, 6 missing and 14 injured.

The staff of the Chinese embassy in South Korea confirmed to a reporter from China News Agency that a Chinese citizen died in a mudslide disaster caused by heavy rain.

  According to the "Chosun Ilbo" report, the rainfall on the evening of the 8th was the heaviest in the 115 years since the beginning of Seoul's meteorological observation.

The data shows that the torrential rain caused more than 1,000 vehicles to be flooded, subway stations flooded, and land subsidence and power outages occurred one after another.

The reporter saw on the social media platform on the evening of the 8th that there was water on the roads in many places in Seoul, making it difficult for cars to pass, and even some citizens swimming in the water.

  On the morning of the 9th, a reporter from China News Agency drove to the severely damaged Gangnam area in Seoul. On the way, a traffic warning of "risk of flooding" could be seen to warn passing drivers.

  At about 12:15, the reporter came to the Hanjiang Bridge and saw that there were no pedestrians on the sidewalk of the Hanjiang Bridge.

Looking at the Han River from the railing of the Han River Bridge, the water level of the Han River has risen, and the water quality is yellow and sandy, with leaves, driftwood and garbage floating on it, and the water is turbulent.

The entrance to the road along the Han River has been blocked, and there are two signs on it, one reads "Dangerous" and the other reads "The water level of the Han River is rising, no entry or exit".

  The heavy rain on the evening of the 8th also caused some subway lines in the South Korean metropolitan area to be interrupted.

According to Korean media reports, at around 21:00 on the 8th, Yongdeungpo Station was flooded, and the operation of Line 1 and offline was interrupted for a time; Line 4 between Changdong and Seoul Station was also suspended due to flooding; Line 7 Lishui Station The platform collapsed due to torrential rain; Line 9 Tongjak Station was also suspended due to flooding; Line 9 Lude Station to Shaping Station was suspended.

  The reporter came to the No. 1 entrance of Lude Station on Line 9 on the morning of the 9th, and saw that the entrance elevator was still running normally. , and has been sealed with iron mesh.

A staff member surnamed Zhang of Seoul Metro Line 9 told a reporter from China News Agency that due to the heavy rain, work was hectic in the morning of the 9th, but it has now entered a normal track.

  Affected by the heavy rain, a mudslide occurred on Gwanak Mountain on the Gwanak campus of Seoul National University, and some roads and buildings on the campus were damaged.

Wang Yi, a Chinese student at Seoul National University, told reporters on the 9th that the school is currently rushing to repair facilities. Students received a text message to try not to leave the dormitory building. The school library also issued a notice of closure on the same day.

  According to the South Korean President's Office, South Korean President Yin Xiyue held an emergency meeting on flood control work on the morning of the 9th, instructing relevant departments, local governments and relevant agencies to strengthen emergency measures to avoid casualties.

According to Korean media reports, the Soyang River Dam, the largest artificial reservoir in South Korea located in the upper reaches of the Han River, will open its gates again on the 10th local time to release floods after a lapse of two years.

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