City Submerged:Seoul is hit by the heaviest rainfall in 80 years ~ WalkBrazil4K Travel Blog

A city submerged in water: Seoul is hit by the heaviest rainfall in 80 years leaving at least eight people dead including three family members who drowned after the basement flooded 'like a scene from Parasite'

At least eight people have died in and around Seoul after torrential rain knocked out power, caused landslides, and left roads and subways submerged, according to South Korean authorities.

The southern part of the national capital received more than 100mm (3.9 inches) of rain per hour on late Monday, with some parts of the city hit with 141.5mm, the heaviest rainfall in decades, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

President Yoon Suk-yeol this morning visited a semi-basement apartment where three family members - two sisters in their 40s and one of their 13-year-old daughters - drowned last night after swift-moving flood waters filled the space and left them unable to escape.

The dangers of such underground flats, called banjiha, were famously depicted in a flooding scene in the 2020 Oscar-winning film 'Parasite'.

Sun-woo, who lived in the flat above the family, told the BBC: 'I feel devastated about this tragedy. If I'd come home earlier perhaps, I could have saved them. I have a lot of regrets.'

He said the family who had died had lived there for 10 years, and that the older sister had learning difficulties.

President Yoon meanwhile told the area's residents he would try to ensure their lives returned to normal as quickly as possible, and he instructed officials to look at measures to better ensure housing safety, according to a statement from his office.

The torrential rain forced hundreds to abandon their cars and sent floods sweeping through several neighborhoods, demolishing businesses and ground-floor houses.

At least five people had died in Seoul and three others in the neighboring Gyeonggi Province by early Tuesday, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said.

Four, including the three family members, had died after being drowned in flooded buildings, one was believed to have been electrocuted, another person was found under the wreckage of a bus stop, and the other two died in a landslide, it said.

At least nine people were injured, while seven were missing.

In the glitzy, dense Gangnam district, some buildings and stores were flooded and were without power, while cars, buses, and subway stations were submerged, leaving people stranded.