TORRENTIAL RAIN CAUSES DAMAGES

[Anchor Lead]

Yesterday's torrential rain has caused massive damages in the southern areas of Gyeonggi-do Province. A reservoir embankment burst in Icheon, and Yeoju residents were evacuated as a flood warning was issued for the nearby Cheongmicheon River.

[Pkg]

This reservoir, twice the size of a football field, stands empty when it should have been filled with water. Only a rivulet of water flows at the bottom of the reservoir. It was around 7:30 yesterday morning when a part of the reservoir embankment burst. It was where the floodgate was. The massive amount of water from the reservoir engulfed a village below. Terror struck at that moment.

[Soundbite] YANG SEONG-SAM(RESIDENT OF A VILLAGE BELOW) : "Moments later they said the reservoir burst. When I came outside, I saw the water coming down like a wall of a mountain."

The force of the water was strong enough to knock down a streetlight and swept away a container warehouse. Several places were flooded. Roughly 10 homes near the river were flooded and farmlands and orchards suffered damage.

[Soundbite] (VILLAGER NEAR THE RESERVOIR) : "The water swept everything away. I've never seen anything like it. I was so shocked that I had to sit down for a while. The house was completely flooded."

But there was no casualties as the residents evacuated quickly. Some 70 evacuated residents are staying at a temporary shelter nearby. In the city of Yeoju near Icheon, about 30 residents evacuated as a flood warning was issued for the Cheongmicheon River yesterday morning.

[Soundbite] SHIN HYEON-GWAN(YEOJU RESIDENT) : "The water swelled in a flash. I fled with nothing."

It is forecast that between 100 and 200 more millimeters of rain is expected in Gyeonggi-do Province today, prompting the provincial government to raise the disaster countermeasures operation system to the highest level.