This transcript discusses the devastating effects of the 2023 rainy season in Korea, China, and Japan, which lasted for 54 days and caused widespread destruction and loss of life. The rainy season began on June 24th and ended on August 16th, during which time the Korea Meteorological Administration was criticized for providing misinformation.
In Namwon, Jeollabuk-do, a special disaster area, the rainy season caused severe flooding. Houses, barns, and greenhouses were destroyed, and livestock suffered heavy losses. The damage extended to Hwagae Market, where over 2,000 tons of flood-damaged waste were left. The damage was estimated to exceed 180 billion won.
In Gurye, Jeollanam-do, the rainy season caused significant damage to a livestock farm. Cows suffered heavy weight loss and were left to die. The rainy season also caused landslides in various parts of Gyeonggi-do, leading to roads being washed away and embankments collapsing.
In Busan, the rainy season caused waterways to overflow, hitting residential areas. The cause of the flooding was a water curtain installed by the city of Busan. The flooding resulted in the loss of three lives.
In China, the rainy season caused widespread flooding, with the Three Gorges Dam and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in a state of extreme emergency. The rainy season caused all rainfall records to be broken, with Enshi, Hubei Province, experiencing a rainfall of 900mm in a half month.
In Japan, the rainy season caused severe flooding in the Kumamoto Prefecture area of southern Japan's Kyushu region. The height of urban flooding in Heitoyoshi, a small town in southern Kumamoto Prefecture, reached 4.3m, over 50 meters high.
The transcript concludes by discussing the causes of the extreme weather events. It suggests that the abnormally high temperatures in Siberia and the Arctic Circle, along with the weakening of the jet stream, played a role in the unusual weather conditions experienced in the Korean Peninsula. The transcript also discusses the impacts of climate change, including the melting of polar ice caps and rising sea levels.
1. The rainy season in Korea officially ended on August 16th, 54 days after it began on June 24th .
2. The Korea Meteorological Administration has been criticized for allegedly spreading misinformation throughout the rainy season .
3. The Seomjingang Riverside in Namwon, Jeollabuk-do, has been declared a special disaster area due to the flooding .
4. The greenhouse and barn at the location have been severely damaged, with the barn collapsing entirely .
5. The embankment collapsed on August 8th, submerging four villages within less than an hour .
6. Livestock, particularly pigs, have been severely affected by the flooding, with many dying .
7. Heavy rain of up to 500 mm in the Jeonbuk region on the 7th and 8th triggered the surprise release of water from the Seomjingang Dam .
8. The Korea Meteorological Administration and Korea Water Resources Corporation are blaming each other for the damage caused by the flooding .
9. The damage caused by the flooding is over 180 billion won .
10. The water that rose up to Hwagae Market, which is 20 meters above the river, has now all subsided .
11. The rain clouds swept over the Korean Peninsula 21 times during the 54-day rainy season .
12. Heavy rain of up to 250mm fell in the Gyeonggi and Chungcheong regions during this period .
13. The accumulated rainfall in July in this area had already exceeded 500 mm .
14. The area of the soccer field is about 1,800 hectares, and more than 2,400 times the amount of agricultural land was submerged in water .
15. The cause of the flooding in Busan was a water curtain installed by the city of Busan .
16. The rainy season in the Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins continued for 62 days .
17. The rainy season in China was unusually hot, leading to a weakening of the jet stream and the formation of a new air mass in the north of the Korean Peninsula, marking the beginning of the rainy season .
18. The melting of polar ice caps due to warming is a significant contributor to the increase in extreme weather events .
19. The loss of Greenland's glaciers has reached an irreversible stage, with the melting rate rapidly accelerating since the 2000s .
20. Last year, 500 kilograms of ice melted in Greenland alone, raising global sea levels by 2.2 mm over two months .