SEOUL, Aug 10, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - At least nine people were killed and seven
others missing in South Korea after record downpours flooded major roads,
metro stations and homes, officials said Wednesday.

The rain that began Monday is the heaviest since South Korea's weather
observations began 115 years ago, according to President Yoon Suk-yeol, who
apologised for the "inconveniences".

Images shared on social media earlier this week showed people wading through
waist-deep water and overflowing metro stations.

Seoul's posh Gangnam district was particularly hard hit, with cars left half
submerged.

"There are a total of 16 casualties, including nine deaths and seven
missing," an official at the Interior Ministry told AFP.

In all, around 600 people have been affected, he said, with many forced to
leave their homes.

Among the nine victims, three died while trapped in their flooded semi-
basement apartment, known as a banjiha, according to the ministry.

Local reports say the victims were a teenager, her mother and her aunt.

Another victim died while removing a tree that had fallen onto a sidewalk,
and is believed to have been electrocuted.

Another died after a landslide buried his home in the mountainous Gangwon
Province.

President Yoon, who on Tuesday visited the banjiha apartment, acknowledged
South Koreans have "suffered a lot of damage".

At a separate government meeting, he told officials to pay special attention
to the most vulnerable.

"Those who struggle financially or with physical difficulties are bound to be
more vulnerable to natural disasters," he said.

Yoon's approval rating has plummeted to just 24 percent since he took office
in May, according to the latest Gallup Korea poll. He is facing criticism for
not going to the government's emergency control centre when the downpour
started.

Local media reported his absence was due to flooding around his house, but
his office denied the claim, saying he decided to stay home as his team
already had the response in hand.