"Water Rises Instantly... Tears Flow" Hwagaejangteo Merchants Complain of Heavy Rain Damage

A citizen wearing a tube waiting for rescue at Hwagae Market in Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam, which was damaged by heavy rain on the 8th. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Over the two days of the 7th and 8th, heavy rain exceeding 400mm caused flooding damage in various parts of Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam. The Hwagae Stream near the Seomjin River overflowed, submerging Hwagae Market and flooding five villages including Hwagae-myeon, resulting in about 300 households and 600 people becoming disaster victims.

Resident A, living in Hadong, Gyeongnam, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 10th and explained the damage situation, saying, "I cannot enter my house. I am at the disaster relief center provided by the administrative authorities," and "The rain poured down so heavily that it cannot be expressed in words."

A, who runs a restaurant at Hwagae Market, said, "Water filled the inside of the store. It seems to have risen about 2.5 meters," and "The entire first floor on the Hwagae Market side was submerged."

A expressed despair, saying, "Now that the water has receded, I went back into the store and almost cried," and "But annoyingly, a typhoon is coming, so I don't know what to say."

He added, "There is nothing that can be salvaged," saying, "The TV, refrigerator, and even the air conditioner were all submerged. Kitchen utensils inside floated away."

He continued, "The water rose so quickly that there was no time to look around. I just escaped with my body first," and explained, "The water came in faster as it approached high tide."

A said, "Other stores suffered even greater damage. A restaurant that was remodeled recently at a cost of about 300 million won was completely submerged except for the roof," and "In 1981, water reached the second floor, but this time it was even more flooded."

He appealed to the government, saying, "The gates of the Seomjin River Dam were fully opened, and the gates of the Juam Dam were also opened together, so everything downstream is destroyed," and "I hope Hadong will be designated as a disaster area so that even if not 100%, some compensation can be provided."