UNESCO World Heritage Site, Namhansanseong Fortress damaged due to torrential rain

연합뉴스 / 2022-08-12 15:40:56

▲ This photo, shows a part of the World Cultural Heritage Namhansanseong Fortress Wall that has been collapsed due to the heavy rain. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, August 12 (Yonhap) -- It has been confirmed that the Namhansanseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Site No. 57, was also damaged by the torrential downpours that began on August 8.

According to Gyeonggido Namhansanseong World Heritage Center on Friday, 15m of the wall, with a height of 5m has been destroyed at Namhansanseong-myeon, Gwangju city.

It is thought to have been collapsed at 11:34 p.m. on August 8, and the point of collapse is near the site Songamjeong between the east gate and Janggyeongsa Temple.

A part of the wall collapsed due to a landslide caused by heavy rain that was comparable to a water bomb.

In the case of Gwangju city, the accumulated rainfall from 00:00 on August 8 to 00:00 on August 12 was the highest in the province with 643 mm.

At the time of the collapse of the fortress wall, a rainfall of 101.5 mm per hour was recorded in the Gwangju area.

The World Heritage Center will be controlling visitor access and will carry out emergency repairs. The repair is expected to take about six months.

Additionally, a number of facilities and trees, including stairs in the trail of Namhansanseong Provincial Park, were damaged, and damage investigations are ongoing.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

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