Citizens who were spending time on an outdoor stage by the Han River suddenly got trapped in the rising water. YTN press screen capture
When water suddenly rushed into Seoul’s Hangang Park, citizens were trapped on an outdoor stage installed on the riverside. The water level of the Han River had risen due to the high tide, but there were no announcements or warnings.
According to the YTN report, water suddenly started rushing around the outdoor stage at Banpo Hangang Park in Seocho-gu, Seoul in the early evening of the 12th. The space where citizens came and went was submerged in water within a few minutes, and citizens who did not know this were trapped on the outdoor stage.
It did not rain that day, but the water level of the Han River also rose as the sea level rose due to the high tide off the coast of Incheon.
The problem was that there was not even a separate announcement for citizens to evacuate.
A citizen who used Hangang Park at that time said in an interview with YTN, “I thought the dam was suddenly discharged or this was a problem, but there was no announcement at all.”
The Han River Business Headquarters explained that this happens every time due to high tide.
The website of the Hangang Business Headquarters explains that the outdoor stage at Banpo Hangang Park was designed to be naturally flooded during ‘Sari’ (when the difference between the tides is the greatest).