SEOUL, Apr 11 (NNN-YONHAP) – A forest fire in South Korea’s north-east coastal city, destroyed forest and houses, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate, it was reported today.
The blaze broke out from a hill in Gangneung, about 170 km east of Seoul, at around 8:30 a.m. local time (2330 GMT on Monday).
The forest fire rapidly spread to private houses, due to strong wind and dry weather. The wind, with an instantaneous maximum speed of 30 metres per second, blew over the eastern coastal areas.
No casualties have been reported yet, but the fire was estimated to have burned around 103 hectares of forest, or the size of about 144 soccer fields, as well as, dozens of houses.
Hundreds of residents and tourists were asked to evacuate to safer places.
The fire authorities raised its response level to the highest, dispatching hundreds of firefighters, some 200 fire trucks and six helicopters.– NNN-YONHAP
