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Scouts and Scouts in South Korea: Early evacuation of the camp
Photo: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
South Korea has begun early evacuation of the world's largest scout camp due to an approaching tropical storm. More than a thousand buses are in use to bring the more than 36,000 mostly young participants of the World Scout Meeting from their tent camp on the west coast of South Korea to the capital Seoul and other regions of the country. This was reported on Tuesday by South Korean broadcasters.
At the expense of the South Korean government, they are to be accommodated in hotels, student dormitories and training centers, among other places. According to the German contingent, its 2200 participants will live in permanent accommodation in Seoul and the surrounding area until they return home. The camp of this year's World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum was originally supposed to be until August 12th.
South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-so spoke of a precautionary measure with regard to the evacuation, according to the national news agency Yonhap. According to the meteorological office, the strong typhoon "Khanun" is currently moving northwards towards the Korean Peninsula and could make landfall there on Thursday in the southeast. Strong winds and heavy rainfall are expected.
Overshadowed by problems
Rainfall and a subsequent extreme heat wave had already affected the scout meeting since it began on August 1. The world federation had therefore already spoken out in favour of an early termination at the end of last week. However, most of the national associations decided to stay. Thousands of participants from Great Britain, the USA and Singapore, on the other hand, left the campsite.
The camp, to which more than 43,000 scouts from 158 countries had registered, was located on an area reclaimed from the sea. Saemangeum did not provide natural shade for the participants, who were accommodated in more than 20,000 tents. The World Scout Meeting takes place every four years.
wit/dpa