1 man killed in Muan as torrential rainfall lashes S. Korea

A man in his 60s has died after being swept away by heavy rain that hit South Korea's southern county of Muan.

Authorities continue to be on high alert.. as more rain is expected in regions including Gyeongsangnam-do province.

Our Park Kun-woo has the latest.

One man died on Sunday evening as heavy rain pounded the southern regions of South Korea.

The man in his 60s was killed in Muan after being swept away while trying to redirect floodwaters away from his greenhouse.

Over 142 millimeters of rain fell in just one hour in Muan-gun County, in Jeollanam-do Province, making it one of the heaviest hourly rainfalls recorded since related data was first compiled in 1973.

Muan sees an annual rain of around 1-thousand-3-hundred millimeters, meaning just over 10 percent of that fell in a single hour.

To put this into perspective, rainfall above 30 millimeters an hour can make car wipers ineffective, while 100 millimeters is enough to make vehicles float.

Due to heavy rain, around 2-thousand-5-hundred residents in southern regions, including Busan and the surrounding Gyeongsangnam-do Province, were also forced to evacuate, with evacuations still underway.

Flooding submerged underground parking lots and caused power outages in apartment complexes.

Parking at a number of national parks and riverside areas has also been restricted.

President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday night called for swift and preemptive action, urging authorities to prioritize rapid response over procedural reporting to minimize damage.

He also expressed concern for regions still recovering from last month's floods and vowed to stay on top of the ongoing situation.

Though heavy rain alerts for areas, including Gwangju, were lifted on Monday morning, more downpours in regions like Gyeongsangnam-do are expected.

Park Kun-woo, Arirang News.