Villages on inter-Korean border flooded after heavy rainfall

Arirang News 2020-08-06

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임진강 군남댐 제한 수위 11m 넘어....역대 최고 수준

Let's now head north to the Imjin River near the inter-Korean border.
Last night saw another round of heavy downpours in Seoul and areas north of the capital particuarly near the border area.
The Imjin River flows through that area and has risen to record levels forcing thousands of residents in the city of Paju and in Yeoncheon County to evacuate their homes.
Our Lee Kyung-eun is live by the Imjin River.
Kyungeun, things look quite peaceful compared to last night.
Conn-young, the area is relatively quiet compared to yesterday.
But if you look at the water level behind me, you can see the severity of the situation from last night torrential rain that pounded the region.
The Biryong bridge, where I am standing now,... serves as a barometer for the amount of flooding in the area.
And due to heavy rain, the water level here has increased drastically,...hitting a record high of 13-point-5 meters at one point.
As a result, Gyeonggi-do Province issued an evacuation order, forcing residents to move to temporary shelters as a preemptive measure.
So far, no casualties have been reported.
And now, these people have started returning home.
But concerns remain,...as many of them make a living through farming, and a lot of their properties have been destroyed.
Even more rain is forecasted in the coming days.
So, the river has risen to an extremely high level, but it's not just from the rain that's been falling in that area.
Right, Conn-young, of course the area has received lots of precipitation overnight.
And Gunnam Dam has also been discharging tons of backed-up water into the river.
It opened all its 13 floodgates for the first time in two years,...as the water level was near 40 meters,...meaning it's almost completely full.
But beside the rain itself, the flooding is also due to an enormous amount of water released from North Korea.
The North's Hwanggang Dam released tons of water without giving prior notice to Seoul.
In response to that, governor of Gyeonggi-do Province Lee Jae-myung and unification minister Lee In-young expressed regret in the morning.
And they called for cooperation in this time of natural disaster for the safety of the people in the border villages.
Back to you.

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