Heavy snow blanketed South Korea for the second day, killing at least five people.
Yonhap News Agency, citing city data and November records, said the capital Seoul had the third-highest snowfall since records began in 1907.
More than 40 centimeters of snow had accumulated in parts of Seoul by Thursday morning, forcing the cancellation of more than 140 flights, but meteorological authorities later lifted a heavy snow warning for the capital region.
At least five snow-related deaths have occurred in Gyeonggi Province, which borders Seoul, since Wednesday, including four when buildings collapsed under the weight of snow and one when a bus crashed on icy roads, Yonhap News reported. It was reported that he died in a car accident in which he skidded.
Police said 11 people were injured in a collision involving 53 vehicles on a highway in central Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Wednesday night.
The first snow of the season has fallen, bringing scenes of both disappointment and joy to the country.
“It snowed a lot today,” 73-year-old Lee Suk-ja told Reuters at Namdaemun Market, one of Seoul’s biggest markets. “It’s freezing cold, but drinking warm kamaboko soup really warms me up.”
Videos and photos showed tourists and locals throwing snowballs and building snowmen as trees were covered in fresh snow.
But many homes lost power, hundreds of domestic and international passengers suffered flight delays and disruptions, and ferry services were suspended.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, more than 11,000 people and nearly 20,000 pieces of equipment were used to remove snow from roads.
Access was restricted to some roads where trees had fallen under the weight of snow, and commuter traffic decreased in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area.
More than 142 flights were disrupted as bad weather affected travel.
Seoul’s main airport, Incheon, was the worst affected, with passengers experiencing an average delay of about two hours, with 31% of flights delayed and 16% canceled on Thursday, plane tracking website Flightradar24 showed. Ta.
The weather has also forced school closures, with 1,285 schools in Gyeonggi Province, including kindergartens, closed until further notice, authorities said.
People living in Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces have been warned to be on guard against further snowfall on Friday, with snow expected to continue in Cholla and parts of Jeju Island until early Saturday morning.
The unusually heavy snowfall in November is thought to be due to warmer-than-usual seawater temperatures on the western side of the Korean peninsula, which encountered cold air flow.
In neighboring North Korea, more than 10 centimeters of snow fell in some areas from Tuesday to Wednesday, state broadcaster Korean Central Television reported.
Additional reporting by agency
