Heat strikes Gwangju flood recovery

[Anchor]

As the skies cleared, traces left by the disaster became even more apparent.

Now, it is time for recovery.

People are sweating, fighting against the heat.

Reporter Baek Mi-sun reports from Gwangju.

[Report]

In a village that was completely submerged by heavy rain, households are now placing their belongings out in the yard.

Wet clothes, blankets, and household items that had been soaked in muddy water are being dried in the sun.

Broken appliances and furniture, along with piles of trash at the village entrance, have formed a small mountain.

People are searching for any usable items, but due to the water having filled the rooms, there is almost nothing left to salvage.

[Hong Hee-yeon/Flood-affected resident: "The blankets, the household goods - there’s not a single usable thing. The water suddenly rushed in and filling the room. There was nothing we could do."]

The kitchen of the restaurant, which was filled with water up to waist height, is now in disarray.

Ingredients in the submerged freezer have begun to rot.

Dust continues to rise from the store's chairs.

[Park Eun-sook/Flood-affected merchant: "Even if we clean with water, the next day when it dries, the dust rises again and again. We can't use anything. All the electronic devices were flooded..."]

The inside of the store is still covered in muddy water.

Even with soldiers helping to clean up, the trash seems endless.

Recovery has just begun, but now that the rain has stopped, heat immediately follows, leaving residents feeling overwhelmed.

[Kim Young-mo/Flood-affected merchant: "I'm sweating a lot and it's exhausting. I don't know how long this will take. Maybe two weeks, maybe three. It’s all a bit overwhelming..."]

In Gwangju, where over 500 millimeters of rain fell in three days, more than 1,300 reports of flood damage have been filed.

This is KBS News Baek Mi-sun.