Biggest one-day snowfall in
32 years
ties up traffic in South Korea By Jim Lea
Osan bureau chief
Jeromy Cross / Stars and Stripes
Pfc. Edgar Gonzalez shoves snow at Yongsan Garrison Thursday, following the worst snowfall
to hit Seoul since 1969. |
OSAN AIR
BASE, South Korea — The heaviest single-day snowfall in 32 years blanketed the
northern half of South Korea on Thursday, leaving thousands of air passengers stranded,
creating huge traffic jams and closing schools and other facilities at some U.S. military
bases.
Snow began
falling at 5 a.m. in Seoul, a spokesman for the Korea Meteorological Administration said.
By 6 p.m., 10 inches had fallen, breaking a record set in February 1969, he said.
Chunchon,
50 miles northeast of the capital, received 11 inches during the same period. Tongduchon,
20 miles north, received 8 inches, the spokesman said. The U.S. Army’s Camp Page is
in Chunchon and camps Casey and Hovey are in Tongduchon.
About 6
inches of snow fell at Suwon, south of the capital, and Wonju, southeast of Seoul. U.S.
troops are stationed at Suwon Air Base and camps Long and Eagle are at Wonju. Road
Condition Black, meaning no traffic could move on post, was in effect at Long and Eagle
for several hours Thursday afternoon.
The
forecast called for light snow throughout Friday, with more snow possible Sunday.
No
snow-related deaths were reported, a spokesman for the national Central Disaster
Countermeasures Headquarters in Seoul said early Friday.
At Yongsan
Garrison in Seoul, military police reported six minor traffic accidents but no injuries.
Department of Defense Dependents Schools closed at 12:25 p.m. Thursday, and base shuttle
buses stopped running soon afterward. Classes were cancelled Friday.
The
commissary closed at 1 p.m., and the exchange closed at 2:30 p.m., an Army spokeswoman
said. Civilian employees were sent home as early as three hours before the end of their
shifts.
Engineer
crews worked through the night to clear snow at the posts. U.S. Forces Korea personnel
stationed in Seoul and farther north were allowed to come to work two hours late Friday.
Bob Warner,
a Camp Humphreys spokesman, said rain fell there early in the day and streets iced over
quickly. About 2 inches of snow fell in the afternoon. Buses were not running on post and
civilian employees were sent home at 3 p.m., he said.
Master Sgt.
John Norgren, a 51st Fighter Wing spokesman at Osan Air Base, said a mixture of rain and
snow amounting to nearly 3 inches of precipitation fell at the base during the day. Osan
is in the midst of a weeklong training exercise and base officials paused the drill for
about six hours in the late afternoon because of weather.
U.S.
military operations around the country returned to normal Friday.
In the
civilian sector, air, train and bus schedules were in chaos and most streets in Seoul and
other cities were clogged by traffic jams Thursday.
Domestic
flights into Kimpo International Airport were canceled, an airport spokesman said.
International flights were halted during much of the afternoon and the airport remained
open throughout the night to clear the blacklog.
With
airline flights canceled and bus service minimal, Seoul’s central train station and
subway stations were mobbed.
Most trains
left the station 60 to 90 minutes late with standing room only. Trains arriving from the
south also were delayed by as much as two hours, a Korea National Railway spokesman said.
At 6 p.m.,
Seoul Subway Corporation officials gave passengers something of a "snow bonus"
— free rides from then until daily service ended at midnight.
Bae
Gi-chul and Jeremy Kirk contributed to this report.
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