On the second day of the storm, it is considered a historic snowfall, with already five deaths and up to 40 centimeters of snow accumulated in Seoul. Schools have closed, and more than a hundred flights have been canceled.
South Korea is facing its second day under an intense snowfall that has caused the cancellation of more than a hundred flights, the suspension of ferry operations, and at least five deaths amid a cold wave, although conditions have shown signs of improvement.
The snowfall has been the third most intense in Seoul since records began in 1907, according to the Yonhap news agency, and the most significant in a November month. Records were also broken last year. The city council has mobilized 11,000 workers for snow removal operations. Up to 40 centimeters of snow have accumulated in some areas of the capital. Authorities have reported 131 temporary power outages. Although the snow alert has been lifted for Seoul, it remains in effect in other parts of the country.
Yonhap has reported at least five deaths related to the snowfall in the Gyeonggi province, adjacent to Seoul, since Wednesday: four people died when structures collapsed under the weight of the snow and one in a traffic accident when a bus skidded on an icy road. Police reported that 11 people were injured on Wednesday night in a collision of 53 vehicles on a highway in the central city of Wonju, in Gangwon province.
At noon, around 1,285 schools, including nurseries, closed in the Gyeonggi province, authorities reported. The unusually historic snowfall in November has been attributed to warmer temperatures than usual in the seas west of the Korean peninsula, which encounter cold air currents. Neighboring North Korea has also received more than 10 cm of snow in some areas between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the state broadcaster Korean Central Television.
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