South Korea battles worst ever wildfires as death toll hits 28

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Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-03-28 09:19:24 |

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Authorities in South Korea are battling wildfires that have doubled in size in a day in the country’s worst ever natural fire disaster.

At least 27 people have died and hundreds of buildings destroyed in the south-eastern province of North Gyeongsang, with the country’s disaster chief saying the fires had exposed the “harsh reality” of global heating.

Pointing to ultra-dry conditions and strong winds that have worsened the damage, Lee Han-kyung, disaster and safety division chief, said: “This wildfire has once again exposed the harsh reality of a climate crisis unlike anything we’ve experienced before.”

The affected areas have seen only half the average rainfall this season, while the country has experienced more than double the number of fires this year than last. More than 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres) have been charred or were still burning in the largest of the fires, which began in the central Uiseong county, making it the biggest single forest fire in South Korea’s history. About 37,000 people have been displaced, the Yonhap news agency said.

“We are nationally in a critical situation with numerous casualties because of the unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires,” the acting president, Han Duck-soo, told a government response meeting, adding that the high number of older victims, including those in nursing hospitals, was a particular concern.

The military has released stocks of aviation fuel to help keep firefighting helicopters flying to douse flames across mountainous regions in the province, where fires have been burning now for nearly a week. More than 300 structures had been destroyed, officials said.

As of Thursday morning, authorities were mobilising more than 9,000 people and about 120 helicopters to battle the fires, the government’s disaster response centre said.

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