Reservoirs in South Korea's Gangwon-do Province are facing severe water shortages, with storage levels far below the national average and with some reservoirs nearly dry, as the scorching heatwave continues to rage across the country.
A reservoir near Gangneung City, once a wide lake providing water for domestic and agricultural use, has now shrunk to a narrow stream due to insufficient rainfall, and large portions of the reservoir bed are now exposed to sunlight.
Currently, many reservoirs in the Gangwon-do region have seen water storage rates running below 40 percent, much lower than the national average of 61.7 percent.
This year, Gangwon-do has received only about 70 percent of its usual rainfall. In the Gangneung area, the total precipitation over the past 30 days was just 43 millimeters, which is only 9.3 percent of the amount from the same period of last year. The Korea Meteorological Administration has reported no indications of heavy rain in the area recently, raising more concerns over the reservoirs' ability to maintain normal water supplies if the dry conditions persist.
Meanwhile, high temperatures have also severely impacted agriculture and aquaculture in South Korea. In Gangwon-do, peach growth is poor due to the lack of rainfall, while on Jeju Island, only 20 percent of carrots sown last month have germinated.
In addition, from June 11 to Aug 18, over 900,000 poultry and livestock have died due to the intense heat, 2.6 times higher than the same period of last year. Moreover, more than 1.5 million fish in ponds have died due to excessive water temperatures, surging 190 percent from the same period of last year, according to data from South Korea's Ministry of Security and Public Administration.
Reservoirs in South Korea's Gangwon-do face severe water shortages as heatwave persists
Israel bombed a school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people including staff members with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and wounding dozens of the displaced seeking shelter there.
UNRWA has confirmed that six of its staff were killed in two airstrikes on the Al-Jaouni School in Central Gaza's Al Nuseirat refugee camp, including the shelter's manager.
UNRWA said the deaths mark the highest number of its staff killed in a single incident over the past 11 months.
In a statement on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the fatal attack on the school housing refugees, and called the lack of civilian protection in Gaza "unconscionable".
He also said the lack of accountability for Israel's killing of UN staff and humanitarian workers in Gaza is completely unacceptable.
Meanwhile, an Israeli government spokesperson said the attack was legitimate, accusing Hamas of using the school as a command and control center.
Hamdi Ali, the father of one of the children who died in the Israeli bombing, shared the hardships they've lived through. But despite everything, he said he will remain in the school because there is no safe place to go.
"We are peaceful civilians. We were displaced to this school in search of safety and reassurance. I lost my son Obaida in the bombing, and I don't know who else I’ll lose next time. Maybe I'll lose my wife, the rest of my children, or even myself. I could be one of the next victims, or any of the other displaced people here in the school," said the father.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, dozens of people injured in the attack on the school have been sent to Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospita, among whom a large number are women and children.
"We were surprised by a missile that penetrated three floors and hit the place where we were. Half of the floor collapsed and my sister fell down. My other sister and I were injured by missile shrapnel and were trapped under the rubble. One of my sisters had a broken arm, and the other had injuries on her head and back," said Lubna Jalo, a witness of the airstrike.
The Al-Jaouni School shelters about 12,000 displaced Palestinians, with most of them being women and children. It is run by UNRWA and has been bombed five times since the beginning of the ongoing war.
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip had risen to 41,084, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.
Israeli airstrike on Gaza school kills UN staff, displaced Palestinians
