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Topics: Ireland
Conor Paterson
Most of the 222 Irish citizens attending the World Scout Jamboree 2023 in South Korea have evacuated the site and are staying in temporary accommodation as Tropical Storm Khanun approaches.
Scouting Ireland has confirmed that most of the 144 scouts and 78 adults that make up the Irish contingent have relocated to Woosuk University in Jeonju, which is out of the path of the coming storm.
The festival was the 25th World Scout Jamboree which sees over 40,000 Scouts from 156 countries, most of whom are teenagers attending. However, yesturday morning Scouting Ireland confirmed in a statement that “The World Scout Jamboree 2023 is ending activities on site early due to expected adverse weather conditions.”
Tropical Storm Khanun has already caused havoc in Japan where heavy rain has destroyed homes and infrastructure. At least two people have died in southern Japan and hundreds have been injured by the storm which has caused winds of over 78mph and is expected to gain strength before making landfall in South Korea on Thursday morning.
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With such dire weather forecasted, the South Korean government’s safety ministry instructed local officials to prepare to shut down coastal areas, hiking trails, river parks, underpass tunnels and other places vulnerable to flooding.
A recent statement from Scouting Ireland has said “Over half of the 40,000 scouts attending the jamboree have now been transported from the site. 26 members of the Irish group including the Contingent Management Team and 18 adult volunteers working at the Jamboree will remain until the last scouts have been moved off site.”
It is not the end of the Jamboree festivities, however. The statement went on to say “The entire Jamboree is expected to reconvene on the 11th of August in a closed/roofed stadium for a K-pop concert and closing ceremony, which will be attended by the Irish contingent.”
Organisers of the event have come under fire for not heeding warnings in advance of the Jamboree. Officials were given months of warnings about intense heat, flooding and other health hazards.
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Much of this was due to hosting the sheer number of young people in n a vast, treeless area lacking protection from heat. Hundreds of participants were treated for heat-related ailments after the Jamboree began, as South Korea grappled with one of its hottest summers in years.
Scouting Ireland had reported that five members of the Irish group, three adults and two teenagers, were treated for the heat, but none required long-term, overnight or off-site treatment.