Coastal Flooding

[Anchor Lead]

On Tuesday the 18th when the moon was situated at its closest distance to the Earth, some flooding occurred in low lying coastal areas nationwide. Some coastal areas are particularly at risk at least until Thursday.

[Pkg]

Seawater floods a coastal area fish market. Coastal roads have also been submerged in seawater as vehicles quickly evacuate to higher areas. The rise in seawater levels which began at the eastern end of the South Sea has continued into the Yellow Sea. In Incheon, seawater flooded onto roads at around 6 p.m. Tuesday, inflicting heavy damage on local merchants. Seawater also reached a height of some 980 cm in central west coast regions such as Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggido Province. Sea levels topped record heights in many coastal regions. There are a number of reasons. The distance between the moon and Earth is some 9,000 kilometers closer than in late August when the tidal difference is known to be the highest. Also, the positioning of the sun, Earth and moon in a near straight line has raised sea levels.

[Soundbite] Sin Min-ho(Vendors' Association, Soraepo-gu Dist) : "Power outlets were moved to places at least one meter high. Motorized facilities including refrigerators were moved on top of roofs as we prepare against flooding."

Thanks to preannounced forecasts on the sea level rise, no damages have yet been reported except for in low lying regions.