South Korea: Water storage rate at drought-hit Gangneung's reservoir rises for 1st time in 52 days

Seoul, Sep 13 The water storage rate at South Korea's drought-stricken Gangneung's main water supply reservoir rose Saturday for the first time in 52 days following heavy rain overnight, weather officials said.

The storage rate at the Obong Reservoir, which supplies 87 per cent of residential water to Gangneung, about 210 kilometres east of Seoul, stood at 12.1 per cent at 10 a.m., up 0.6 percentage points from the previous day, according to the regional weather agency.

It marks the first increase since July 23, though the drought remains far from over, officials said. A state of national disaster was declared for the East Coast city on August 30, reports Yonhap news agency.

The water increase followed heavy overnight rain in Gangwon Province's coastal and mountainous regions, including 140 millimetres 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 welcomed the rain in a Facebook post.

"Though the aftermath of the drought that began July 6 cannot be resolved by this rain, I hope it will bring at least a little comfort to the citizens of Gangneung who are suffering to the point they cannot even do laundry or take showers at ease due to the indefinite restricted water supply," he wrote.

Lee also vowed to prevent similar inconveniences by strengthening management systems in response to environmental issues, including climate change.

Earlier on September 7, all-out efforts have been underway on Sunday to supply water to Gangneung, officials said, as it struggles with worsening water shortages.

Helicopters, fire trucks and a Navy vessel were set to be dispatched to supply 29,793 tons of water to Obong Reservoir, the city's main water source, and the Hongje water purification plant for the day, according to city and Gangwon Province officials.

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