Day 329

(I HATE) THE RAINY SEASON

I grew up in Michigan, a state that doesn't get much rain--let alone a rainy season.  I got my first taste of the rainy season in Australia, and I can't say that I enjoyed it.  Everything was muddy and smelled like wet dog.  Sometimes I couldn't walk the normal way to class because my normal walkway had become a rapidly-flowing river.  My hair looked like crap every day.  My cheap umbrellas broke while I was walking to class.  On day my umbrella broke and became entangled in my bun, forcing me to walk home holding it awkwardly while also getting soaked.  Another I left my window open a crack and flooded my room.

My point is, some people just aren't made for the rain.

Now that I'm in Korea, I was just getting used to the warm weather when the rainy season started.  Apparently it's worse than normal (everyone said that about winter too) and I haven't seen the sun in weeks.  I hate the rainy season.

In the past 48 hours the rain went from dreary to flash flooding.  I'd say this is worse than the rainy season I experienced in Australia.  My entire running route is destroyed.  And since I don't go outside when it rains, I only caught a glimpse of the aftermath.

I heard reports that we were getting around 200mm of rain per hour.  That's more than most of Antarctica gets all year.  Here's some photos posted today on Facebook from other people in Chuncheon:

Those cars are underwater.
Photo taken by Dae Gyu Kang.

This is on my running route.  Yikes.
Photo by Garrett Rabinak.

UPDATE:  I got a few more videos from facebook.  This one is of a bridge like this one, the water is at least 15 feet deep.  The water is normally about a foot deep and well below the level of the walking path.  The walking path is waaaay below the surface today.

And another video, showing the swan boats and boat restaurants that normally float near my house.  They've been carried away and destroyed in the downstream dam.

In a stroke of luck, I got the urge to go take photos of the route exactly one week ago.  You know, to remember in the future.  The flood waters are receding, but even a day later the flooding is clear.

The river, one week ago:

One week ago, there was almost no water in the river.

The river, today:

Those white specks are herons.  They can't stand in the water because it's moving too quickly.

The tube over on the right was carried away from a construction site about 250m upstream.  I doubt it was the only one.  I think homeless people sometimes sleep under bridges, so I hope no bodies turn up.  :(

Walking bridge, one week ago:

There's some bridge construction being done, so this temporary walking bridge was erected.  Notice the big pile of dirt under the bridge.

 Walking bridge, today:

The bridge is closed.  That dirt pile is gone.  The construction site looks... waterlogged.

Did you notice the difference in the vegetation growing along the river?  The river was so high and fast that all the plants have been bowled over.  The next photo makes it even clearer how high the flood waters were:

On the left side of the photo, that bank was completely submerged yesterday.

Before and after of the new fake-river path that ends with a fake-waterfall, taken one week apart:

One week ago.

Today it's partially underwater.

And you can't really access it, because the walkway has been washed away:

This was less than a month old!  Shame.

Oh, and what's behind there?  That'd be the remains of a footbridge.

That is a lot of detritus.

Not really sure what those long black things are.  Possibly downed lines?

It's the only crossing that survived, so people were still using it.  (Myself included.)
Many were walking precariously on the edge, which would have been disastrous if they fell in.

I've been working on my pull-ups lately, and unfortunately my nearby pull-up bars are gone.

Lots of mud on the path.  You can see how high the water came on this side!
There used to be a workout area on the left.

The waterlogged remains of some benches, three pull-up bars, and two sit-up benches.

There are seats under those grassy balls.  The flood waters have dragged them out, concrete bases and all.

All that's left of my favorite pull-ups spot.  RIP, metal bars.  :(

What's left of the grass.

I walked a little further and was happy to see that the next-closest workout area was dirty but looking structurally sound:

Phew!  At least one still looks usable.

I was quite surprised when I walked under the overpass and discovered grass on the ceiling.  This thing is 3m/9ft high, at least.  Which means that's how high the floodwaters were.  Daaaaaang.

The floor is covered in a 1-inch thick layer of mud.

That's right, there's grass stuck on the lights.

Some rather serious-looking damage.  Not sure what these lines are for, but it doesn't look very safe.

More detritus hanging off the top.  Daaaang I'm glad I wasn't around when that water hit.

The river itself is man-made, and much of the city sewer system drains into it.  It's all about 15-20 feet below the rest of the city, and I imagine it saved a lot of the city from more damage.  I've never seen so much mud in my life.

A little bridge next to a city sewer outlet.  That fence has been ripped off toward the back.  Look at all that detritus!

A week ago it looked like this.  The little inlet on the right is where the bridge/sewer outlet are.

Peaceful, calm, and clear water last week.

If you look in the middle of the photo, just below the bridge there's a line in the water; that's a rock pathway for people to cross on.  In the photo below, the water is moving so quickly that it's hitting the rock path and churning violently.

This is normally a peaceful, slow-moving, and shallow area.  The raging waters are being made by a rock walkway
that's currently underwater.

The only good thing about all this mess is that it's turned up quite the assortment of fish, bugs, and crustaceans.  I found tons of new and exciting creatures on the path in little puddles today!  Sadly my camera died before I could get photos of most of them.

It's blue!  An older Korean gentleman helpfully told me that it was a "Korean lobster."  Awwww.

This looks like a cross between an earwig and a prawn.  MUST COLLECT A SAMPLE.

I'm not entirely sure this guy was supposed to be in the water?  Weird though.  About the size of my thumb.

Extra bonus?  Because the water is shallow, warm, and stagnant, there's not much oxygen for the little guys!  That means they're slow and easy to catch!

My mother will be so proud that her daughter can catch a fish without a net.

I might have to go collect samples--you can take the marine biologist away from the ocean, but you can't make her stop bringing home weird bugs, flatworms, and mystery crustaceans.

If I do end up collecting some samples (and finally putting those bug-boxes to good use) I'll be sure to post the photos soon!  :)

Cheers,
Ashton