Key facts
- A landslide in Geoje, South Korea, killed one person and injured three amid heavy rainfall.
- Over 800 mm of rain fell in Geoje, South Korea, from Saturday to Monday morning.
- The heavy rains also caused flooding in the Philippines, disrupting traffic and leading to the suspension of government work and classes.
- About 390 people were evacuated in South Korea due to heavy rains.
- Power outages affected approximately 3,580 houses in South Korea.
Torrential rains have pounded southern South Korea, leaving one person dead and four others injured, officials said Monday. One person died in a landslide that struck an apartment building in the southern city of Geoje on Monday, the Interior and Safety Ministry said in a report. It said two people were injured in Geoje and two others in nearby cities. The heavy rains that have pummeled southern South Korea since Saturday have forced about 390 people to evacuate to safe places and caused power outages at about 3,580 houses, the ministry report said. In the Philippines, heavy monsoon rains flooded key streets and snarled traffic early Monday in the densely populated region of metropolitan Manila and a dozen outlying provinces, forcing the government to suspend government work and cancel classes at all levels starting at noon. Schools were asked to shift to online learning. About three weeks of intermittent monsoon rains and a storm that lashed the main northern island region of Luzon two weeks ago left at least 23 people dead, mostly due to landslides and floods, and affected 5 million people, including nearly 25,000, who remained in government emergency shelters on Monday in several northern provinces, according to the Office of Civil Defense. Among the dead were 10 people, including children, whose houses were buried by an Aug. 9 landslide in the northern mountain resort city of Baguio. Three others were dug out alive with injuries by rescuers from the avalanche of mud, rocks and debris that collapsed from a mountainside as people slept, officials said. More than 800 millimeters of rain has pounded South Gyeongsang Province, including Geoje, over the weekend, triggering a landslide in the city that killed a resident, authorities said Monday. The city of Geoje, more than 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, received 805.7 mm of rain from Saturday through 8 a.m. Monday, while Tongyeong in the province received 671.9 mm during the same period, with other parts of the province receiving between 240 mm and 340 mm. Heavy rain warnings were in effect in five areas of the province, including Geoje and Tongyeong, as of Monday morning, while lower-level heavy rain advisories were also in effect across many parts of the region. Downpours battered Geoje, triggering a landslide in a neighborhood at 4:42 a.m. Monday that struck an apartment building. Police and firefighters rescued three residents from the landslide-hit apartment building, but one of them was found in cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Heavy rain had flooded 12 schools and kindergartens in Geoje and Tongyeong as of Monday morning. Firefighters received more than 20 calls overnight from residents in Geoje seeking help over various rain-related accidents and damage, authorities said. Heavy rain caused several streams in Geoje to overflow, flooding roads and triggering a separate landslide in a neighborhood that struck a house. No casualties were reported in that incident. As of Monday morning, both Geoje and Tongyeong were being hit by rainfall of up to 100 mm per hour, with the weather agency forecasting up to an additional 150 mm of rain in parts of the province throughout the day. The interior ministry activated a Level 1 emergency response, the lowest level, at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, with Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung calling for all-out efforts to protect people's lives. Prime Minister Han Seong-sook also instructed police, firefighters and other authorities to make every effort to rescue stranded residents and others at risk from the heavy rain.