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Torrential rains lashed South Korea on Wednesday, creating landslides in mountainous Gangwon Province and in the capital city of Seoul that killed at least 22 people and flooded hundreds of homes, news reports said.
Thirteen people were killed and 26 others injured after a rain- triggered landslide hit a pension and four homes in the mountainous Chuncheon area east of Seoul early Wednesday.
Among the victims, 10 were college students from Inha University in the western city of Incheon who were in the area for volunteer work. More than 600 firefighters and police are carrying out restoration and search efforts in Chucheon, Gangwon Province.
In southern Seoul, at least 9 people were killed as apartment buildings and homes were buried under a landslide at Mount Umyeon, Yonhap news agency reported.
Some 400 residents have been evacuated after being isolated due to the landslide. In Seoul, police declared a special emergency and more about 1,500 soldiers have been mobilized to conduct rescues and clear roads.
The precipitation in Seoul between Tuesday and early Wednesday morning surpassed 400 millimeters, the national weather agency said, adding more than 250mm of rain is further expected through early Thursday morning.
Streets, subway stations, underground walkways and residential districts were flooded throughout the capital, resulting in massive traffic jams and power outages. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement that 37 roads across the country, including 23 in Seoul, were shut due to the rains as of 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
It also said that 76 people in 36 households have been sent to a refugee camp in the capital, as more than 700 houses were flooded.
XINHUA
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