Over 5,000 Soccer Fields Flooded with Crops... Rice Suffers the Most Damage

"No Impact on Supply Expected"

Due to heavy rain continuing since the 20th, crops were flooded over an area equivalent to more than 5,000 soccer fields. Among the crop types, rice suffered the greatest damage.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 22nd at 8 a.m. that the nationwide flooded crop area was tentatively estimated at 3,608 hectares (1 hectare = 10,000㎡). This corresponds to an area equivalent to about 5,050 soccer fields (0.714 hectares each).

The region with the largest flooded crop area was Chungnam, with 1,896 hectares submerged. This was followed by Jeonbuk (899 hectares), Gyeongnam (483 hectares), Jeonnam (225 hectares), and Gyeongbuk (43 hectares).

By crop type, rice accounted for most of the damage with 3,314 hectares flooded. Lettuce covered 84 hectares, cherry tomatoes 34 hectares, and strawberries 24 hectares.

Additionally, some public facilities such as reservoirs were also reported to have suffered damage. However, it is expected that the reservoir water level will recover from 50.5% to the normal level or above (67.6%) due to this heavy rain.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "Damage to kimchi cabbage, radish, and chili peppers is not significant, so there should be no problems with kimchi preparation. Although some farmers experienced damage to lettuce, many unaffected shipping areas, including open fields in the Gangwon region, mean that supply capacity is better than in July, so there will be no impact on supply and demand."

On the afternoon of the same day, Minister Song Mi-ryeong of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs visited a cucumber farm in Cheonan, Chungnam, which was flooded due to the heavy rain, to check the progress of recovery and promised disaster recovery funds and insurance payments.

Deputy Minister Park Beom-su convened a meeting on heavy rain damage countermeasures and stated, "We will do our best to carry out rapid emergency recovery to minimize damage caused by the heavy rain."