South Korea records longest rainy season to date
Seoul, Aug 12 (efe-epa).- The summer rainy season in South Korea exceeded 50 days Wednesday, the longest monsoon since records began in the country, where the alert for torrential rains remains, having already left more than 30 dead.
The Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) considers that the worst of the rainy season is over, although it maintained the alert on Wednesday in much of the country (except for the eastern coastal strip) due to rainfall that could accumulate between 20 and 80 millimeters of water per hour.
The torrential rains this year have left 33 dead and nine missing, and have forced the evacuation of some 7,800 people, of which about 3,000 have not yet managed to return to their homes, Yonhap agency reported.
Waterspouts have damaged more than 24,000 buildings across the country and flooded almost 28,000 hectares of agricultural land.
This year’s is the longest rainy season since data began to be recorded in South Korea, currently exceeding the 49 days of rain recorded in 2013.
It is also the first time since the 1980s that the rainy season lasts until mid-August in the country.
The KMA forecasts persistent rain this week in Seoul and the provinces of Gyeonggi (northwest), Gangwon (northeast) and North and South Chungcheong (center and west coast). EFE-EPA
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