HEAVY RAIN HITS SEOUL

[Anchor Lead]

Seoul was hit by heavy downpours on Monday. The cumulative precipitation came to an 80-year high of over 380 millimeters. The intense rainfall caused traffic chaos during the evening rush hour. Some sections of subways were forced to halt and there were even citizens who were stranded and could not make it home.

[Pkg]

Long lines of people in umbrellas are spotted after failing to take public transportation. Drivers have to slow down on flooded roads. This a scene at the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu District in southern Seoul Monday night. As Seoul was battered by intense downpours during the evening rush hour, some citizens gave up returning home.

[Soundbite] Kim Kang(Gangnam-gu Resident) : "Heavy rain began falling in the daytime and it was tough. Now, the road has been flooded, making it impossible to return home. Some of my friends were on a half-submerged bus. There are friends who are forced to stay at study cafes."

Multiple subways lines in Seoul were forced to halt operations. Dongjak Station on Line No. 9 was closed down due to the damages from the torrential rain. Isu Station on Line No. 7 was inundated, forcing trains on both directions to pass through the station without making a stop. Train operations were once disrupted at Shindaebang Station on Line No. 2, as areas around the station were also flooded. The inside of a running bus is seen here half-submerged. Various sections of major roads were flooded, disrupting operations of buses and cabs.

[Soundbite] Woo Joon-young(Dongjak-gu Resident) : "I expected the rain to stop by 10 p.m. There are only buses. But all of them were blocked. The traffic was quite difficult."

Reports continued that major roads around the capital were inundated, submerging vehicles and causing disastrous traffic congestion.