YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- Weather reports Tuesday said that the Seoul metropolitan area would only receive one to two inches of rain. They were wrong.
At approximately 1 p.m., torrential downpours on a scale not seen in Seoul since records were first kept in 1907 began lashing U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan. By 6 p.m., almost 10 inches of rain had turned the Moyer Recreation Center area into a lake and much of 8th Army Drive into a rushing urban river.
Garrison Yongsan activated its emergency operations center at approximately 1:20 p.m. and began a coordinated response that included getting children home safely from Department of Defense Dependents Schools, School Age Services, and the Child Development Center on South Post.
"South Post was basically cut in half with 8th Army Drive and 10th Corps Blvd. flooded with at least three feet of water at some points," said Director of Emergency Services Ricky Oxendine. "Our challenge was getting kids home safely who live on the other side of South Post. That is why we decided to move kids who were not riding buses to the Collier Field House."
Children riding buses home were able to make it home unaffected by the high waters. Those needing to be picked up by parents were moved to higher ground at the Collier Field House.
"Our main concern was for a safe and orderly response," said Garrison Commander Col. Bill Huber. "We made sure that wherever we had children waiting for their parents, our professionals would be there as long as it took for parents to arrive safely."
Simultaneously, the Directorate of Emergency Services deployed all available Military Police and the Yongsan Fire Department to man intersections and assist those caught by surprise in the rising rivers that were the post's roads only moments before.
"The MPs did a commendable job," said Garrison Yongsan Facebook Fan Elaine Guseman Saxe. "I watched them helping the school kids across the rushing water, and even saw them carrying the little ones across."
Yongsan Public Affairs provided real-time updates live from the emergency operations center to its office, where information was posted to the Garrison's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/usagyongsan, Twitter https://twitter.com/usagyongsan, and live on American Forces Network radio, among other outlets.
The Moyer Recreation Center and surrounding area was hardest hit by flood waters, with water cresting at approximately six feet along the wall adjoining the Korean War Memorial, completely inundating several privately-owned vehicles, according to Yongsan Public Affairs Specialist Sgt. Opal Vaughn.
Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Director Paul Robinson said the Main Post Club and Yongsan Lanes sustained the most water damage, with the Main Post Club's Underground club area hardest hit by flooding.
"We plan on reopening the Main Post Club's top floor and Reggies this Friday and Yongsan Lanes on Saturday," Robinson said. "The Moyer Recreation Center should be back up Saturday, too, but the Main Post Underground is going to take about two weeks to get cleaned up. We have crews working to restore full services as soon as possible."
The Department of Public Works, still cleaning up after Typhoon Kompasu, swiftly moved into action to combat the rising waters. DPW Chief Chuck Markham directed the emergency response both from the emergency center and on-the-scene, setting up an emergency telephone line for those affected in their homes by flood waters and ensuring emergency pumps were placed at critical infrastructure areas.
"Our teams were out there working under very stressful conditions to limit the damage caused by the flooding," Markham said. "We're cataloging where damage was done and responding as soon as possible."
Despite the high waters, Yongsan emergency responders were able to restore power to all but the 2200 block (Moyer Recreation Center area) of Main Post by 7 p.m. By sunset, most of the water had receded and traffic was flowing normally along most roads. All gates returned to normal operations by 8 p.m.
As of Thursday, cleanup continues across the Garrison, with overall damage being limited to flood-prone areas. Some minor, isolated landslides and asphalt buckling occurred during the flooding, but DPW is working to repair those areas as soon as possible.
"We can be thankful that no one was injured," said Huber. "Our emergency response teams did an outstanding job taking care of our community members and working to restore services. Each event like this shows how well our training has prepared us, and teaches us new lessons to make sure we make our response even better next time."
Garrison Yongsan Facebook Fan Lynne Imamura summed up the Yongsan Community's spirit despite the storm Tuesday evening: "Yongsan is the assignment of choice in Korea!"
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