A massive global gathering of scouts in South Korea has been forced to vacate the campsite a week early because of an approaching typhoon, days after extreme heat sickened hundreds of teens and sparked complaints over how the event was being run.
The World Scout Jamboree, held in Saemangeum on the country’s west coast, saw nearly 40,000 teenagers turn up, according to organizers. The event was supposed to feature outdoor activities, cultural performances, sustainability workshops and other offerings for the participants, mostly middle and high schoolers.
But extreme weather has put a dampener on festivities and scouts are now leaving the main venue almost a week ahead of schedule.
“The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) received confirmation this morning from the Government of the Republic of Korea that due to the expected impact of Typhoon Khanun, an early departure will be planned for all participants at the 25th World Scout Jamboree,” WOSM said in a statement.
The typhoon is forecast to hit South Korea on Thursday, with up to 6 inches (150 millimeters) of rainfall expected, according to CNN meteorologists.
About 36,000 scout participants from 156 countries will be transferred to the greater Seoul area starting Tuesday morning, said Kim Sung-Ho, vice minister for Disaster and Safety Management.
The “emergency evacuation plan” would include 1,000 buses for transport, while the prime minister will meet with local authorities later Monday to discuss accommodation and additional activities for the scouts, he added.
The typhoon only the latest in a series of issues that have dogged the event since its launch on August 1. Within the first week, hundreds of teenagers fell ill at the event due to a sweltering heat wave, with others going to the on-site hospital for issues such as skin rashes, sunburn and bug bites.
On Sunday alone, nearly 1,300 people visited the on-site hospital, according to Kim Hyun-sook, chairman of the jamboree’s organizing committee, and the minister of Gender Equality and Family.
South Korea has issued heat wave warnings across most of the country since late July, with temperatures expected to rise to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit) in some regions on Monday, according to the Korean Meteorological Agency.
And there were other complaints too, with anxious parents sharing online what their children had been reporting from the campsite – such as not having enough food, sleeping gear or even beds.
Organizers announced a series of new measures on Friday to improve the situation, such as increasing the number of cleaning staff seven-fold to more than 500.
Over the weekend, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered authorities to send air conditioned buses to the site for additional shelter from the heat, and called for an “all-out effort” to maintain hygiene at the campsite to prevent food poisoning.
But it was too late to assuage concerns from other countries’ leaders and campers’ families overseas. Over the weekend, large contingents of scouts from the United States, Britain and Singapore pulled out of the event, further fueling calls to end the jamboree early.
The US contingent said it would move its campers to the US Army Garrison Humphreys before flying them home on August 25, while the British contingent said it would move campers to hotels in Seoul for the rest of their stay, Reuters reported.
