SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – At least 17 people have died in floods and landslides across South Korea, triggered by days of torrential rain. The country’s disaster management office reported on Sunday, July 20, 2025, that 11 people remain missing, raising fears that the death toll could increase as emergency rescue efforts continue.
Footage from the resort town of Gapyeong on Sunday showed residents wading through thick mud, crossing a damaged bridge to reach evacuation shelters after a landslide. Further south, video from Saturday depicted an entire village in the central Chungcheong region submerged by earth and debris following a separate landslide.
The southern parts of the country have borne the brunt of the destruction, with six fatalities and seven people missing in Sancheong alone. Thousands of roads and buildings have been damaged or submerged by raging floodwaters, with widespread reports of damage to farmland and significant livestock deaths.
Since the downpour began on Wednesday, nearly 10,000 people have evacuated their homes across the affected regions, and over 41,000 households have experienced temporary power outages, according to local media. While the rain has largely subsided in the worst-hit southern and central areas, overnight downpours shifted north. Heavy rain is still anticipated in the capital Seoul and northern regions throughout Sunday.
In response to the escalating crisis, President Lee Jae-myung declared the worst-hit areas as “special disaster zones” on Sunday, initiating a multi-agency recovery effort. Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung urged local authorities to swiftly mobilise “all available resources.”
A landslide in Gapyeong County, in the northern part of the country, resulted in two fatalities as several properties were engulfed in mud, AFP reported, citing government officials. The intense rainfall is expected to taper off late on Sunday, but will be followed by an intense heatwave.
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