Between June and August 2020, floods severely impacted large areas of both

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

due to heavy rains of the regional rainy season, primarily in the far southern parts of the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. These floods are closely related to ones across China and in Kyushu, Japan. 32 people have died in South Korea as a result. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety estimated the damage to be

₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean Empire won, Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike ...

1.04 trillion (US$875 million).

Events

The

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

rainy season began in South Korea in late June. In early July,

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

was flooded following heavy rains. Late July again saw heavy downpours and strong winds hit southeastern areas of South Korea, killing several people and causing more damage. In mid-July, a

Korea Meteorological Administration The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA; ) is the national meteorological service of South Korea. The service started in 1904 joining the WMO in 1956. Numerical weather prediction is performed using the Unified Model software suite. Histo ...

official stated that "the rainy season began on

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

on June 10 and in the southern and central regions on June 24. Generally, the wet season ends in those areas in late July, though the exact period differs from region to region." August, however, witnessed a continuation of the seasonal rains with flooding all over South Korea, while most damage and fatalities continued to be in the southern areas."South Korea floods, landslides kill 26 as heavy rains continue."
Channel News Asia. (Reuters) 8 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020. Evacuees and local officials raised concerns regarding emergency shelter given the simultaneously ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The floods worsened as Typhoon Hagupit and Tropical Storm Jangmi dropped more rainfall over the

in August 2020. the 2020 rainy season is the second longest on record after the 2013 season. On 3 August, the North Korean

State Hydro-Meteorological Administration The State Hydro-Meteorological Administration ( Chosongul: ) is the National Meteorological service of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The service started in 1961, joining the WMO in 1975. History Immediately after liberation, on Jul ...

, issued a red alert over extreme rainfall in parts of the south and northwestern regions of North Korea. Accurate information on the effects of the rains in North Korea is hard to come by, but the North is typically highly susceptible to seasonal flood damage. The

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) () is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946, and now features ...

reported damage in North Korea, but no fatalities."Food supply a concern amid N. Korea floods."
''The Star''. (Reuters) 8 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020. Supreme Leader

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

was reported on 7 August to have inspected flood-damaged areas of

North Hwanghae Province North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; , lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital is S ...

, adjacent to South Korea, among them in village of Taechong-ri, Unpa County. There are concerns that the late flooding in 2020 could interfere with the North's food harvest and precipitate a threat to the state's food security. Further reconstruction works took place in Kangbuk-ri,

Kumchon County Kŭmch'ŏn County is a county in the North Hwanghae province of North Korea. It has a population of 68,216. Geography Kŭmch'ŏn is bordered to the west by Kaesŏng, to the south by Kaep'ung, to the northwest by T'osan, and to the north by Mt. ...

. On October that year,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly,

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (; born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, hol ...

visited the village Samjigang-ri in

Chaeryong County Chaeryŏng County is a county in South Hwanghae province, North Korea. Geography Located on the Chaeryŏng River, the county is bordered to the west by Anak and Sinch'ŏn, to the south by Sinwŏn, and to the east by Ŭnp'a, Pongsan and Sariwŏn ...

to inspect reconstruction efforts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020 Korean floods Floods in North Korea Floods in South Korea 2020 disasters in North Korea 2020 disasters in South Korea

Floods A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

2020 floods in Asia

Events

See also

References