Heavy rain caused severe flooding in Mokpo, submerging a university campus and local dried-seafood shops [1, 2].
The flooding highlights the vulnerability of low-lying coastal cities to extreme weather and the failure of existing infrastructure to protect chronic flood zones.
Intense rainfall caused the Yeongsan River to overflow, sending water into historically flood-prone areas of the city [1, 2]. In the dried-seafood market, merchants struggled to save their inventory as water rushed into their stores. Kim Jung-soon, a local resident, said, "How much it filled, the water reached up to here. Up to here, even inside the store..." [1].
Other business owners reported that the scale of the disaster was unprecedented in recent memory. Kim Mi-jung, a merchant, said the flooding felt like the first of its magnitude in 30 to 40 years [1]. She noted that in previous flooding events, water did not enter the rooms, allowing her to move goods. This time, the water filled the space completely, leaving her with no place to move items and forcing her to discard them [1].
The damage extended beyond the market district to a local university campus, where floodwaters swept through the grounds [1, 2]. Similar reports of flooding and damage emerged from Gwangju, also located in South Jeolla Province [1, 2].
Local observers said the disaster was predictable given Mokpo's known chronic flood zones [1, 2]. The combination of river overflow and the city's geography created a scenario where low-lying commercial, and educational hubs were unable to drain effectively.
“The water reached up to here, even inside the store...”
The inundation of both commercial markets and educational infrastructure in Mokpo suggests that current urban drainage systems are insufficient for the increasing intensity of rainfall in South Jeolla Province. Because the Yeongsan River overflowed into known flood-prone areas, the event underscores a systemic need for improved flood barriers and updated zoning in coastal South Korean cities.
