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Seoul, the capital of South Korea, will ban semi-basement homes after a family of three were found dead on Tuesday (Aug. 9) in their flat after it was flooded.
According to The New York Times, the family comprised two sisters in their 40s and the 13-year-old daughter of one of the women.
They had sought help as a heavy downpour caused water to fill their semi-basement home.
However, rescuers were unsuccessful in rendering aid.
At least 11 individuals have been confirmed dead or are missing as a result of floods caused by the record-breaking rainfall — the heaviest in 80 years — over Seoul, reported the BBC.
Semi-basement flats to be banned
Semi-basement flats are perhaps best known for being featured in the 2019 film "Parasite", which won four awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Such a flat served as the home for the working class Kim family; in the film, the semi-basement home also experiences flooding during a severe rainstorm.
According to the BBC, these homes are usually rented out to people on low incomes and are known for their poor living conditions.
City officials said on Wednesday (Aug. 10) that they would no longer give out permits for the construction of basement or semi-basement homes and consult with the government to revise building laws to completely ban their use for residential purposes.
They would also give owners of semi-basement flats 20 years to convert them for other uses.
While the process of banning these low-income flats begins, authorities plan to help current tenants relocate to public rental housing.
Family of three were trapped inside house
The New York Times reported that the family found dead had moved into the flat seven years ago.
Apart from being cheap, the home was also near a government welfare centre where help was readily available for one of the women, who had Down syndrome.
As rainfall pummelled the city, water started rushing into the semi-basement flat so forcefully that the only door to the home was sealed shut, said neighbours and emergency officials.
Hearing one of the women's cry for help, neighbours tried in vain to reach emergency services who were inundated with calls from flood victims city-wide.
Two men from the neighbourhood attempted to rescue the family by breaking in through a street-level window, but they were hindered by an anti-theft grating.
"The water filled the house so quickly we couldn’t do anything about it," said a 52-year-old neighbour according to The New York Times.
Top image screenshot from Parasite and via the World Is Dangerous YouTube channel