Heavy rainfall offers drought relief, causes damage in southeastern region

South Gyeongsang Province in South Korea experienced heavy rainfall on Sunday, providing much-needed relief from an ongoing drought, but also resulting in localized damage, according to officials. The Korea Meteorological Administration reported that 125.5 millimeters of rain fell in Geumnam by 8:30 p.m. Sunday, with other hard-hit areas including Danseong (112 mm), Jinju (108.9 mm) and Mount Jiri (105 mm).

The rainfall came as a welcome respite to farmers in the province, whose concerns had grown due to dwindling reservoir storage levels and stunted crop growth. However, the intense downpours also prompted local forest authorities to raise the landslide risk alert for the region to caution, as the heaviest rainfall was expected to concentrate around mountainous areas.

The Korea Forest Service issued a warning that southern coastal regions and the Mount Jiri area could receive up to 250 millimeters of additional rain by Monday. Provincial fire services responded to 74 emergency calls on Sunday, including one rescue operation and 68 efforts to support roads and properties. Most incidents occurred along the southern coast of the province.

In Tongyeong, firefighters successfully rescued a mobility-impaired resident trapped inside a flooded home at 6:08 p.m. An emergency disaster text alert was also issued for parts of Sacheon at 1:32 p.m., when rainfall rates exceeded 50 millimeters per hour, though no casualties were reported.