67 Passenger Ships Canceled Due to Snow Bomb... 20 Roads Closed

363 Trails Closed in 14 National Parks

A heavy snow warning has been issued mainly for the central and southwestern regions, resulting in the cancellation of 67 passenger ferries on the 7th.

On the 6th, as heavy snow falls in Seoul, vehicles in the city center are moving at a turtle's pace. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) report on heavy snow response, as of 6 a.m. that day, ferry operations were halted for 67 vessels across 54 routes including Jindo~Jeju, Gunsan~Eocheong, and Incheon~Baengnyeong.

Roads were closed at 20 locations: 2 in Seoul, 1 in Chungbuk, 4 in Chungnam, 4 in Jeonbuk, 5 in Jeonnam, and 4 in Jeju. There were no closures on national highways or expressways.

Trails in national parks were also closed. This included 93 trails in Bukhansan, 60 in Mudeungsan, 52 in Jirisan, and 26 in Songnisan, totaling 363 sections.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety activated CDSCH Level 1 from 7:30 a.m. on the 4th and raised the heavy snow crisis alert level from 'Interest' to 'Caution.' The areas requested for situation management and damage prevention expanded from 6 cities/counties in Jeonnam, 6 in Jeonbuk, and 5 in Chungnam on that day to include 5 counties in Gyeongbuk, Gwangju, and Incheon. In these areas, thorough snow removal during morning commutes, preemptive control of vulnerable facilities such as residential vinyl greenhouses and isolated areas, evacuation, and prevention of casualties were urged.

Fire authorities reported that from the 4th until 4 a.m. that day, they conducted a total of 209 fire activities, including 166 safety measures and 43 rescue and first aid operations, with no reported damages.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, very heavy snow with 3?5 cm per hour is expected to fall until the afternoon in the Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, and Jeolla regions. The expected snowfall on the 7th and 8th is 3?8 cm in southern Seoul, Incheon, southern Gyeonggi, northwestern Gyeonggi, the five western islands, central and southern inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon, western and northeastern inland and northeastern mountainous areas of Gyeongbuk, and western inland areas of Gyeongnam (with some places in southern Gyeonggi exceeding 10 cm). Northern Gyeonggi, northern inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon, eastern southern coast of Jeonnam, central inland areas of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, and southern east coast areas are expected to receive 1?5 cm. Daejeon, Sejong, Chungnam, and Chungbuk are forecasted to have 5?10 cm (with some places in Chungnam and Chungbuk exceeding 15 cm), and Ulsan, central and eastern inland areas of Gyeongnam, and western southern coast areas around 1 cm.

Until the 9th, Jeonbuk, Gwangju, and Jeonnam (excluding the eastern southern coast) are expected to receive 5?20 cm (with some places on the Jeonbuk west coast and southern inland exceeding 25 cm), Ulleungdo and Dokdo 5?10 cm (with some places exceeding 15 cm), Jeju Island mountainous areas 10?30 cm, Jeju Island mid-mountain areas 5?20 cm, and Jeju Island coastal areas 3?8 cm of snow.