Rain expected on Thursday, but won’t be enough to put out fires: weather agency
As a deadly wave of wildfires continued to ravage southeastern parts of South Korea on Wednesday, the region saw a highly alarming increase in human and infrastructure damage overnight, with ineffective governmental evacuation efforts and climate change cited as the main factors.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, a total of 24 people had died in the wildfires and 26 had been injured as of 4 p.m., Wednesday.
Since Friday, the wildfires have burned down a total of 17,534 hectares of forest, with Uiseong County and Andong in North Gyeongsang Province suffering the most damage, accounting for 15,158 hectares. As of press time, 209 homes, factories, temples and cultural properties in the southeastern region have also suffered damage.
Victims mostly elderly
A majority of those who died were found to be older people, mostly aged 60 and above, who faced difficulties in quickly evacuating to safety.
In Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province, three residents of a senior care home died when the vehicle they were evacuating in exploded after being engulfed in flames. All three were in their 80s and had mobility issues. A total of six people were in the vehicle at the time, including three care workers.
An elderly couple in their 80s was also found dead on a road heading downhill from their home in Yeongdeok. Authorities believe the couple was caught in the flames while trying to evacuate.
In Cheongsong, North Gyeongsang Province, two civilians in their 70s and 80s were found dead in their homes. In Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, a woman in her 50s and another in her 70s were also found dead at a yard in front of their homes.
As most of those affected were found to have died while attempting to flee from the fires, authorities faced criticism for failing to help civilians flee to safety.
A resident of Cheongsong in his 60s, surnamed Kim, was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying that there was “no guidance (by authorities) as to which direction was safe or dangerous” to evacuate to.
“They just told us to evacuate quickly, so I just ran outside -- but it was frustrating that there were no clear or proactive instructions,” said Kim.
Authorities also faced criticism for sending out emergency mobile alerts too late, failing to clearly inform people of nearby evacuation centers or proactively assist in early evacuations before the wildfires reached the villages.
According to emergency message records from the Ministry of Interior and Safety’s National Disaster Safety Portal, Yeongdeok County Office sent out an emergency alert to residents in Jipyeong around 12:07 a.m., advising them to evacuate toward Ganggu, Namjeong or Pohang. However, the fires reached Ganggu and Namjeong around 30 minutes later, prompting another emergency message to be sent telling residents to “evacuate toward Pohang” instead.
“The fire that originally broke out near Jipyeong spread toward Ganggu and Namjeong within just 30 minutes. The situation deteriorated rapidly,” a Yeongdeok County Office official told the press on Wednesday. “With power outages across several parts of the county, we ended up urgently sending out a message advising people to evacuate toward Pohang instead.”
Also, in Cheongsong, information regarding evacuation centers changed up to four times in a span of 30 minutes, raising confusion among evacuees. A Cheongsong resident, identified by their last name Lee, was quoted by Yonhap as feeling “anxious and scared” after receiving so many emergency alerts in a short period of time.
In some villages in Yeongdeok, up to 104 evacuees gathered near harbors to escape the fire, as they lacked information regarding where to evacuate and where the nearest evacuation shelters were. The evacuees were later successfully rescued by the Uljin Coast Guard.
“We provided information regarding evacuation shelters in advance, but with fires breaking out in all directions, people couldn’t figure out where to go and fled toward the water,” a Yeongdeok County Office official said. “Since evacuating by car was impossible, the Coast Guard had to step in for rescue."
Climate change
According to the National Institute of Forest Science, large forest fires will become more frequent as climate change intensifies.
Climate factors that contribute to wildfires include humidity, temperature and wind speed, according to the institute.
Climate change leads to higher global temperatures, which can dry out forests and make them more susceptible to fires. Higher temperatures increase the rate of evaporation, reducing soil moisture and drying out vegetation, allowing fires to ignite and spread.
Stronger wind patterns may also be observed due to climate change, which can make fires spread more quickly and intensely, making it harder to control fires once they start.
The southeastern region’s wildfires from Saturday intensified mainly due to extremely dry conditions and strong winds.
According to the NIFS report, if overall forest temperatures rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius, wildfire risks are projected to increase by 8.6 percent. An increase of 2 C could cause wildfire risk to increase by 13.5 percent. The national average forest temperature from 2000 to 2019 was 11.9 C, according to the report, and if climate change continues to intensify, the average temperature is expected to increase to 14.1 C by the 2050s.
Will it rain?
From Wednesday evening, rain is expected to begin on Jeju Island before spreading to the southern parts of the Korean mainland, including North Jeolla Province and the North and South Gyeongsang provinces, on Thursday.
However, the expected precipitation amounts may be too little to effectively suppress the ongoing fires. Uiseong and Cheongsong in North Gyeongsang Province, which have been severely affected, are forecast to receive less than 5 millimeters of rain, while Sancheong in North Gyeongsang Province and Ulju in Ulsan can expect to see 5 and 10 millimeters.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, rain will start in areas affected by the wildfires early Thursday and will stop quickly after.
Though subject to change, the low pressure system bringing rain toward the southern region may also bring strong winds, intensifying the fires. Currently, a high wind advisory has been issued in parts of the regions affected by the wildfires, including North Gyeongsang Province, as they are expected to experience wind gusts exceeding 70 kilometers per hour until Thursday.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
