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The strong wind, dry lands and pines are a dangerous combination for forest fires, say the experts
Strong winds, dense forest and unusually dry time – it is the fatal combination which, according to experts, feeds the greatest forest fires in the history of South Korea.
Hell in the South -East burned 35,810 hectares (88,500 acres) from Thursday – it is about half the size of New York – killing 27 people so far and moving tens of thousands.
Authorities believe that forest fires have started by human activity by human activity, but the main engines of devastation are dry land and strong gusts sweeping the interior regions.
The high concentration of pine forest in the north of the province of Gyeongsang, where fires burn, “oil” of the fire, said an expert in forest disaster.
Vulnerable pine forests
“Pins contain resin, which acts like oil, intensifying fires when it is ignited. This resin burns forest fires faster, stronger and longer,” said Lee Byung-Doo from the National Institute of Forest Sciences in Seoul.
Andong, one of the most affected cities, is known for its quiet pine forests.
Although they provide shelter and food for local fauna and sometimes help break the wind, the pines “become problematic during forest fires,” Lee told the BBC.
“Because forests (in South Korea) contain a large number of pines, the areas are particularly vulnerable when fires burst,” he said.
In addition, the pines keep their needles throughout winter, which makes them sensitive to “crown fires” – forest fires that spread by lighting the dense canopy of branches and leaves. This contributed to the rapid and in -depth propagation of the flames in last week.
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It was difficult to evacuate the elderly in forest fires because some have mobility problems
Unlike neighboring countries like China and North Korea, South Korea has produced gains in forest coverage in recent years.
“Most mountains are now filled with fallen leaves and pines … This accumulation has become an important factor in accelerating the spread of forest fires,” said Baek Min-Ho, specialist in disaster prevention at the Kangwon National University.
Climate change is also to be blamed, according to experts.
“This forest fire has once again revealed the harsh reality of a climate crisis unlike all that we have known before,” the head of the South Korea, Lee Han-Kyung said on Thursday.
The ideal environment for these record flames has been built in recent weeks, which has seen the temperatures exceed 20 ° C (68F), unusually high for spring. The analysis of Central Climate, which seeks climate science, suggests that these high temperatures have been carried out up to five times more likely by global warming.
The unusual heat has dried up the earth and the air, allowing fires to spread more quickly, especially when combined with strong winds.
The dense tree cover and strong winds in the region struck by fire also pose significant challenges to fire fighting efforts.
On Wednesday, a 73 -year -old pilot died when his fire -fighting helicopter crashed in the county of Uiseong. At least three other firefighters were killed in the flames.
Elderly residents of the second oldest province
Most of the 26 deceased are in sixties and the 1970s, the officials say. South Korea is an aging society, where one in five people are at least 65 years old.
North Gyeongsang is its second oldest province, which also explains the relatively high number of deaths – it is particularly difficult to evacuate the elderly in a disaster because they can have mobility problems or other health risks.
They may also have more difficulty accessing or interpreting evacuation orders.
Three residents of a care establishment for the elderly in Yeongdeok County died on Wednesday when the car in which they were ignited. Only one in four in the vehicle has managed to flee in time, Korea Jongang Daily reported.
The acting president Han Duck-SOO said on Thursday that he “worried” that many victims are the elderly, when he ordered the Minister of the Interior to move to North Gyeongsang to supervise rescue efforts.
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A cracked bell in the temple of Goun in the north of Gyeongsang, where many other structures have been burned on the ground
A resident of Andong who evacuated but lost her house told the BBC that her family and their neighbors had been caught by fires.
“No one in the village has been prepared,” said the woman, who asked not to be appointed.
“We had to leave with nothing, and all our personal effects have disappeared. Many residents are elderly, so I hope that the government will be able to provide temporary shelters where people can stay comfortably,” she said.
Historical relics have also been burned on the ground – a significant loss for an area considered as one of the cultural centers of South Korea.
These include treasures in two temples, each more than 1,000 years. One of them, the Gounsa temple, dates back to the Silla dynasty (57bc at 935ad).
Additional reports from Rachel Lee and Jake Kwon in Seoul
