SEOUL, July 29 (UPI) -- Record-breaking rains in South Korea set off landslides and floods that killed at least 59 people and left another 10 missing, officials said Friday.
Rescue workers were joined by volunteers from across the country in massive humanitarian and cleanup efforts in Seoul and neighboring areas in the aftermath of record rains totaling nearly 2 feet this week.
The Yonhap News Agency said rains were the heaviest in a century and left about 10,000 people from 4,800 households in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province homeless. About 2,000 people in nearby Paju and other areas were evacuated from their homes because of fears of flooding, authorities said.
Landslides swept through homes, apartment buildings and roads.
About 1,000 people worked to help clean up mud and debris in residential areas and roads in the southern part of Seoul, assisting homeowners and bringing in relief supplies, the Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting officials of the Seoul Volunteer Center.
Explosives in a munitions depot were swept away after a landslide brought down the structure and the military worked to retrieve them, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Those killed in the landslides included at least 18 people in Seoul and another 13 in Chuncheon, 53 miles to the east.
Other areas hit by flooding and landslides included the towns of Gwacheon and Yongin, the emergency center said.
