Over 24 flights canceled in South Korea's Incheon Airport due to heavy rains

By Reuters   July 17, 2024 | 11:54 pm PT
Over 24 flights canceled in South Korea's Incheon Airport due to heavy rains
People wait to check in at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, 2022. Photo by Reuters
Heavy monsoon showers dumped more than 300 mm (12 inches) of rain in South Korea on Thursday, causing cancelation of more than 24 flights at the Incheon international airport on the west coast.

The rain also disrupted train services in Seoul, emergency authorities said.

South Korea ordered people living near rivers in its central region to evacuate homes while warnings went out across a large swathe of the country, including the capital.

The government was watching for sudden surges in rivers flowing from North Korea, urging vigilance against any landmines planted at the border by its neighbor that could get washed downstream.

South Korea's military has said it could not rule out the chance that the North planted more mines in recent weeks, fully aware of the likelihood of heavy rain.

"We're monitoring the water level in the main rivers shared by the South and the North in real time," a military spokesman, Lee Chang-hyun, told a briefing.

Although July brings annual monsoon rain, summer months in recent years have seen weather extremes that President Yoon Suk Yeol has said should be anticipated as a result of climate change.

 
 
go to top