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Yonhap News Agency reported that a landslide struck a residential apartment building in Geoje city within South Gyeongsang province on Monday burying its first floor and trapping residents inside. Rescue teams pulled three people from the debris with one later declared dead at a hospital while the other two sustained injuries alongside a third victim. The incident occurred as heavy rains pounded the coastal city near Busan overwhelming local infrastructure and prompting immediate emergency responses from provincial authorities.
The Korea Meteorological Administration recorded 124.5 millimetres of rainfall in a single hour in Geoje marking the highest total since measurements began in 1972. Reuters figures show some southern areas accumulated up to 800 millimetres since Saturday accompanied by thunder and lightning that exacerbated flooding across multiple districts. Rivers overflowed their banks and major roads turned into waterways disrupting traffic and leaving sections of the city inaccessible for hours.
Local officials closed tourist attractions for the day while suspending bus operations and household waste collection after flood damage impaired key routes according to a municipal announcement. The moves aimed to ensure safety for residents and emergency crews operating in the affected zones where visibility remained poor. Such precautions reflected the scale of disruption that extended beyond the landslide site to surrounding communities in the province.
Around 100 residents received evacuation orders due to risks of additional landslides a statement from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety indicated on Monday. Authorities also worked to rescue approximately 20 people stranded by rising waters in Geoje as operations continued through the afternoon. The safety ministry coordinated with local teams to provide temporary shelter and assess structural damage in vulnerable areas.
The downpours form part of a series of intense storms sweeping East and Southeast Asia this month Reuters noted in coverage that highlighted similar events in neighbouring countries. Record rainfall in Japan’s Chiba prefecture the previous week killed at least eight people knocked out power to more than 20,000 homes and stranded thousands of travellers at Narita airport according to separate dispatches from the wire service. Those disruptions during a busy holiday period underscored the regional vulnerability to extreme weather patterns amplified by ongoing atmospheric conditions.
South Korea has confronted comparable crises in recent years with torrential rains in July 2025 leaving 17 people dead and 11 missing the Associated Press reported at the time. Earlier events in 2023 produced more than 20 fatalities from landslides and floods while 2022 saw at least eight deaths in the Seoul area from comparable hourly rainfall totals. The Korea Meteorological Administration has tracked an increase in such extreme precipitation episodes aligning with broader forecasts of intensified typhoon activity linked to El Niño effects that strengthened from June onward.
