Severe rainfall events on two continents have killed multiple people and forced hundreds from their homes, with Indiana recording its worst flooding in decades and South Korea's southern coast absorbing extraordinary levels of rain over the weekend.

In Indiana, a midwestern U.S. state, at least seven people have died since storms began on 11 August, according to state homeland security officials. The victims ranged from a four-year-old boy — killed when a tree crashed through his bedroom during strong winds in Jennings County — to a 58-year-old woman whose car was swept off a flooded road; her body and that of her dog were found in a cornfield days later. A 19-year-old recent high school graduate drowned after jumping from a bridge into the swollen Mississinewa River, while the latest confirmed fatality was a 31-year-old cyclist who apparently rode around a barricade and fell into a collapsed road in Henry County. In Indianapolis, the state capital, the White River crested at more than 24 feet (7.32 metres) — surpassing records set in 1913 — prompting the evacuation of hundreds of homes along the river and its canals. Mayor Joe Hogsett described it as the worst flooding the city had seen in more than 30 years. First responders conducted boat rescues of stranded residents, and emergency shelters remained open into the weekend. Power outages affected nearly 130,000 utility customers statewide by Sunday, reduced from a peak of around 300,000. President Donald Trump approved a federal disaster declaration to support recovery efforts, and state Governor Mike Braun's office reported more than 350 evacuations across Indiana. The National Weather Service warned that further heavy rain and flash flooding remained possible in central and southern parts of the state.

On the other side of the world, South Korea's southeastern coast was battered by exceptional rainfall, with the coastal city of Geoje — roughly 300 kilometres southeast of Seoul — recording more than 800 millimetres of rain between Saturday and Monday morning. In the early hours of Monday, a landslide triggered by the downpours struck an apartment building in a residential neighbourhood, burying its ground floor. Emergency workers rescued three people from the rubble, but one was later pronounced dead in hospital. A separate landslide struck a house in another part of the city, though no casualties were reported there. Rivers overflowed, roads were inundated, and around 12 schools and kindergartens in the Geoje and Tongyeong areas were flooded. Approximately 100 residents were evacuated due to the continued risk of landslides, while authorities worked to reach some 20 people still stranded. Rainfall of up to 100 millimetres per hour was recorded in some areas, with forecasters warning of up to an additional 150 millimetres throughout the day. South Korea's interior ministry activated an emergency response at its Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, and Prime Minister Han Seong-sook called on police, firefighters, and other services to prioritise rescuing those at risk.

Both events underscore the growing threat posed by extreme rainfall, which can overwhelm infrastructure and catch residents off guard with devastating speed. In Indiana, officials noted that rivers crested at levels not seen in over a century, raising questions about flood preparedness in an era of increasingly intense storm systems. In South Korea, the sheer volume of rain — more than 800 millimetres in under 48 hours in some locations — illustrates the capacity of seasonal weather patterns to produce catastrophic results, particularly in hilly terrain prone to landslides.