'We haven't even started repairs' — up to 80mm more rain forecast for North Gyeongsang

Heavy rain that battered northern North Gyeongsang Province has temporarily eased, but the Korea Meteorological Administration's forecast of up to 80mm of additional rainfall through Sunday afternoon is stoking fears of further damage.

According to Yonhap and Uiseong-gun county, repair crews are working to restore an access road washed out in Gugye 2-ri, Danchon-myeon, by torrential rain that began Saturday night. The county has asked relevant agencies to restore electricity, water and communications to the area, though full-scale facility repair teams have yet to be deployed.

As of 1 p.m. Sunday, 162 residents from 55 households in Uiseong-gun had evacuated over flooding concerns. Some have returned home, but displaced residents from Gugye 1-ri and 2-ri have been moved to the Uiseong General Gymnasium. The county has deployed 465 people — including village patrol members and civil servants — to monitor landslide-prone and flood-risk areas.

The county activated its first-level emergency response at 2 a.m. Sunday, operating drainage pumps at the Angye pumping station and inspecting landslide-vulnerable zones. All 120 campers at a local campsite were escorted home in 23 vehicles. Damage to crops and agricultural facilities is under investigation.

The situation in Andong is similar. "It is hard to say we are in a recovery phase yet," a city official said. "Today and tomorrow we are tallying the damage — what we can do on the ground is emergency work, clearing away the mud and debris as it comes."

The downpours also struck areas still scarred by last year's major wildfire. In Gwimi 1-ri, Iljik-myeon, Andong, temporary housing units built for wildfire victims were swept by floodwaters and slammed into the walls of a neighboring house.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast an additional 30 to 80mm of rain for Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province through Sunday afternoon. All heavy-rain advisories for the province were lifted at 6 a.m. Sunday, but landslide watches remain in effect for Gimcheon, Andong, Yeongju, Uiseong-gun, Yecheon and Bonghwa. The Korea Forest Service also raised its landslide crisis alert for North Gyeongsang Province from Caution to Alert.