US EditionRain gives some respite to South Korea firefighters as death toll rises
- Raging wildfires, accidentally started by a grave visitor using sparks from a brush cutter, have swept through southeastern South Korea since last Friday, destroying homes, factories, vehicles, and historic sites including the Gounsa temple complex in Uiseong, with Andong, Sancheong and Ulsan being among the worst-hit areas.
- The wildfires, fueled by strong winds and ultra-dry conditions following South Korea's hottest year on record in 2024 and months of below-average rainfall, have become South Korea's largest-ever, surpassing the April 2000 inferno that scorched 23,913 hectares.
- The blazes resulted in at least 28 fatalities, including a pilot in his 70s whose helicopter crashed on Wednesday while fighting the fire, and four firefighters trapped by rapidly advancing flames, with 37 others injured and around 37,000 people forced to evacuate.
- Overnight rain on Thursday and cooler temperatures, which Lim Sang-seop, the Korea Forest Service chief, said "reduced the haze, improving visibility, and the cooler temperatures compared to other days create very favourable conditions for firefighting efforts," aided the 4,650 personnel and 130 helicopters involved in the firefighting efforts, though shifting winds reignited some fires.
- Acting President Han Duck-soo acknowledged the escalating crisis and the potential for the damage to surpass previous wildfire disasters, while experts warn that climate change, driving rising temperatures and altering rainfall patterns, is expected to increase the frequency of such devastating fires, as the deputy head of the government's disaster response center said, "The wildfires show the reality of climate crisis that we have yet experienced.
60 Articles
60 Articles
S.Korea Fire Death Toll Rises to 30 as Government Pledges Relief
The death toll from the worst wildfires in South Korea’s history rose to at least 30, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said, as the government stepped up relief efforts and emergency services battled to extinguish the remaining blazes, and prevent embers re-sparking.
South Korea wildfires: Death toll rises to 28
Wildfires sweeping through South Korea since last Friday have killed at least 28 people. According to local news agency Yonhap, the wildfires have also injured dozens of people and burnt about 48,000 hectares of forest. About 38,000 residents have so far fled affected areas. Speaking on the development, Lim Sang-seop, chief of the Korea Forest Service told Yonhap that plans have been put in place to extinguish the main flames. “We plan to mobili…
South Korea's record of forest fires increases to 28 deaths, rains provide a bit of respite
The rains of the night brought out some of the worst forest fires South Korea has ever experienced, the authorities announced on Friday, according to which the last record of fires that have been raging for almost a week has increased to 28 deaths.
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej TodayRain helps tame South Korea’s deadliest wildfires, 28 dead as blazes rage on
YEONGDEOK, March 28 — Overnight rain helped douse some of South Korea’s worst-ever wildfires, authorities said today, as the death toll from the unprecedented blazes raging for nearly a week reached 28. More than a dozen fires have ravaged large areas of the country’s southeast, destroying an ancient temple, and forcing around 37,000 people to evacuate. The wildfires blocked roads and knocked out communication lines, causing residents to flee in…
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