South Korea evacuates thousands of scouts from coast as tropical storm nears
CBC
Carrying huge backpacks and water bottles, tens of thousands of scouts began arriving at university dormitories, government and corporate training centres, and hotels around Seoul and other inland cities on Tuesday afternoon as the South Korean government evacuated the World Scout Jamboree ahead of a tropical storm.
The South Korean government had scrambled to keep the 12-day gathering of Scouts going in the face of struggles with heat, hygiene and land use controversies, as thousands of British and American Scouts departed over the weekend.
It wasn't until Monday afternoon that officials announced the decision to abandon the coastal campsite in the southwestern town of Buan, after forecasters raised alarms that tropical storm Khanun was heading toward the Korean Peninsula.
The 37,000 Scouts, who hailed from 156 countries and were mostly teenagers, folded up their tents before boarding over 1,000 vehicles for the evacuation. Officials say 656 vehicles had left the campsite as of 4 p.m. local time.
Most of the scouts will be accommodated in Seoul and the surrounding area, with others sent to other provinces in the country's north and central regions.
South Korean officials say the jamboree will continue in the form of cultural events and activities, including a K-Pop concert in Seoul on Friday.
Scouts from Britain, who had transferred to hotels in Seoul over the weekend because of the extreme heat at the Jamboree site, visited a war memorial and the former presidential palace.
Hundreds of scouts from Norway had already left the the site on Monday, citing concerns about the complications of moving together with tens of thousands of other Scouts. Geir Olav Kaase, leader of the Norwegian contingent, said the Scouts arrived at their hotels in Incheon by 9 p.m. Monday.
Scouts Canada said 235 Canadian youth and 143 volunteers were among those bused out of the jamboree site.
A spokesperson for Scouts Canada, Anissa Stambouli, said the Canadians are in "good spirits and have continued to enjoy jamboree experience," adding "parents of participants are being kept informed."
Concerns had been raised beforehand about having such large numbers of young people in a vast, treeless area lacking protection from heat as South Korea grappled with one of its hottest summers in years. After the Jamboree began, hundreds of participants were treated for heat-related ailments.
The government insisted the event was safe enough to continue and channelled resources to keep the event going, adding medical staff, air-conditioned buses, military shade structures, and hundreds of workers to maintain bathrooms and showers, which some Scouts had complained were filthy or unkempt.
Organizers said the campsite will not be used for any other events after the scouts leave.
Tropical storm Khanun has meandered around Japan's southwestern islands for more than a week, dumping heavy rain, knocking out power and damaging homes.