Korean firefighters struggle to contain wildfire in Hadong after sunset
Images | en.yna.co.kr
Firefighters on Monday battled to contain a wildfire in the southern county of Hadong after sunset, and residents in several villages were advised to evacuate to safe locations, according to authorities, Yonhap reports.
The fire erupted on a mountain in Hadong, some 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 12:05 p.m. according to the Korea Forest Service.
Hadong is one of the regions devastated by the nation's worst wildfires that were contained late last month.
According to the agency, 326 residents were evacuated, 214 of which are residing at designated shelters.
The Korea Forest Service mobilized 36 firefighting helicopters and 753 personnel to put out the latest wildfire that has scorched some 65 hectares of land.
Now, all helicopters have been pulled out after sunset, and over 500 personnel struggled to contain the wildfire.
A man in his 70s was taken to a hospital with burns on both hands after attempting to put out the fire himself, according to the forest service.
Authorities suspect the man started the fire while working with a turf cutter, and plan to look into the exact cause of the blaze after it is extinguished.
In Seoul, acting Interior Minister Ko Ki-dong urged relevant authorities to make all-out efforts to put out the wildfire as early as possible.
Make sure to have residents at risk from the fires swiftly take shelter and establish fire lines in advance to prevent any casualties," Ko told a disaster response meeting.
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Floods kill four and devastate eastern Australia
Images | aljazeera.com
Record-breaking floods in eastern Australia have killed four people and stranded tens of thousands after days of relentless rain, Al Jazeera reports.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Christopher Minns visited affected communities on Friday, some of which have experienced their worst flooding on record this week.
Minns praised emergency workers and volunteers, who have rescued 678 people in recent days - 177 of them in the past 24 hours.
It’s an amazing, heroic logistical effort where, in very difficult circumstances, many volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to rescue a complete stranger," Minns told reporters.
Without the volunteers, we would have had hundreds of deaths and we’re in deep, deep gratitude."
As well as the four victims killed, one person is reported missing.
About 50,000 people are still isolated across New South Wales, the country’s most populous state. Entire towns remain cut off and roads submerged after a powerful weather system dumped months of rain in three days.
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