Heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding in Geoje and Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Monday morning [1].
The flash floods overwhelmed local infrastructure, trapping vehicles and inundating residential basements in several urban areas [1, 2].
Rainfall intensity exceeded 100 mm per hour [1]. This volume of water caused rivers to rise rapidly, leading to the submergence of roads and parking structures [1].
Footage provided by residents to YTN showed the severity of the inundation. One video captured in the Gohyeon-dong area of Geoje around six a.m. showed streets turning into rivers [1]. Another report from a Geoje apartment complex around nine a.m. documented water reaching the wheels of parked cars [1].
In Tongyeong, the surge of water similarly affected residential areas and public thoroughfares [1]. The rapid onset of the flooding left residents with little time to move property or vehicles from low-lying areas [1, 2].
Local reports said the volume of rain exceeded the capacity of existing drainage systems [1]. The resulting floodwaters entered homes and commercial basements, causing significant property damage [1, 2].
Authorities have not yet released a full tally of the financial losses or official casualty reports, but the visual evidence confirms widespread disruption across the two cities [1].
“Rainfall intensity exceeded 100 mm per hour.”
The flooding in Geoje and Tongyeong highlights the vulnerability of South Korean coastal urban centers to extreme precipitation events. When rainfall exceeds 100 mm per hour, standard municipal drainage systems are often incapable of diverting water fast enough to prevent flash flooding, suggesting a need for updated infrastructure to handle increasingly volatile weather patterns.
