Heavy Rain Hits South Korea's Southern Coast and Jeju Island

Heavy rain continues to fall across South Gyeongsang Province’s Namhae coastal area and Jeju Island’s Seogwipo city on Tuesday morning ^[1].

The persistent rainfall has saturated the ground, significantly increasing the risk of landslides in regions already battered by record-breaking precipitation. Authorities are warning residents of additional damage as slopes weaken across the southern coast.

The current weather event began on the night of Aug. 16 ^[1]. Since that time, the volume of rain has reached extreme levels in several coastal cities. Geoje has recorded cumulative rainfall exceeding 950 mm ^[1], while Tongyeong has seen totals of more than 760 mm ^[1].

Weather caster Won Ida of YTN said that rain continues to fall in the South Gyeongsang Namhae coast, where heavy rain damage has been significant ^[1]. While heavy rain advisories for Geoje and Tongyeong were issued overnight, those specific warnings have since been lifted ^[1].

Despite the lifting of some advisories, the danger remains high. A heavy-rain warning is currently in effect for Seogwipo on Jeju Island ^[1]. Won said that because the ground has become very weak, continuous caution is necessary to prevent additional damage, such as landslides, as rain continues through the morning ^[1].

Local residents have noted a gap in official communication during the crisis. Despite the severity of the rainfall and the associated landslide risks, no emergency disaster text messages have been sent to the affected populations ^[1].

The saturation of the soil means that even moderate additional rainfall could trigger slope failures. This vulnerability puts residential areas and infrastructure in the Namhae coastal region at heightened risk until the weather stabilizes.