Gangneung: The water storage rate at drought-stricken Gangneung's main water supply reservoir rose Saturday for the first time in 52 days following heavy rain overnight, weather officials said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the storage rate at the Obong Reservoir, which supplies 87 percent of residential water to Gangneung, approximately 210 kilometers east of Seoul, stood at 12.1 percent at 10 a.m., marking an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the previous day. This marks the first increase since July 23, although officials warned that the drought is far from over. A state of national disaster was declared for the east coast city on August 30.
The increase in water levels followed heavy overnight rain in Gangwon Province's coastal and mountainous regions, with 140 millimeters recorded in Sokcho, 100 mm in Yangyang, and 91.5 mm in Gangneung as of 10 a.m. The last time daily rainfall in Gangneung exceeded 30 mm was two months ago on July 15, when it reached 39.7 mm.
President Lee Jae Myung expressed his relief over the rainfall in a Facebook post, acknowledging that while the rain cannot fully resolve the drought that started on July 6, he hopes it provides some comfort to Gangneung's citizens, who have been struggling with restricted water supplies that affect daily activities such as laundry and showers. Lee also committed to strengthening management systems to address environmental issues like climate change, in hopes of preventing similar situations in the future.