South Korea is preparing to evacuate tens of thousands of scouts from a coastal jamboree as a tropical storm approaches the event, officials said today.
The jamboree has already been marred by hot temperatures that have forced many – including 4,500 British scouts – from the grounds to hotels at a cost of £1 million.
Hundreds of participants have been treated for heat-related ailments since the jamboree began on Wednesday, and 2,500 have fallen ill as of Sunday with ailments such as insect bites, rashes and heat exhaustion.
According to local reports, there has also been an outbreak of Covid-19.
With tropical storm Khanun raging over the camp, the World Organization of the Scout Movement said it has received confirmation from the South Korean government of the early departure of all participants in the southwestern county of Buan.
That means using buses to urgently move some 36,000 scouts — mostly teenagers — from 158 countries out of the storm’s path to safer locations.
British scouts arrive at a hotel in Seoul on August 5, 2023, after leaving the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla Province due to high temperatures
Tents are set up at a scout campsite during the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, South Korea, on August 4, 2023. The campsite is now in the path of an emerging storm
South Korea’s weather bureau reported that Khanun was expected to make landfall in South Korea Thursday morning, possibly with wind gusts as high as 73 to 95 miles (118 to 154 kilometers) per hour.
Large parts of the south of the country, including Buan, could be affected by the storm as early as Wednesday, the agency said.
The storm left one dead and 70 injured on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, according to the country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Due to the forecast of harsh weather conditions in the region, West Japan Railway Co. that there was a possibility to suspend the ‘Shinkansen’ bullet train services from Wednesday night to Thursday morning.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said he called for “contingency plans,” including moving the scouts to hotels and other facilities in the country’s capital, Seoul, and nearby metropolitan areas.
The site was created on land reclaimed from the sea, making it particularly vulnerable.
Long before the event began, critics expressed concern that such large numbers of young people would have to be moved to a vast, treeless area that offered no protection from the summer heat.
Speaking to the BBC, UK Scouts Chief Executive Matt Hyde said his organization had raised their concerns with the organizers of the event and described the appalling conditions at the camp.
“We are both disappointed and feel let down by the organizers as we repeatedly raised some of these concerns before going when we were promised things would be taken care of,” he said.
“If you can imagine toilets that are used by thousands upon thousands of people and not cleaned with the regularity you might expect, you can imagine the sorts of things people saw.
“It wasn’t just that, it was actually the lack of soap, so again, it’s the aggravating impact of all these things combined, but like all these things, when you’re put in a position where you have to make difficult decisions are there choices.
“We have had to make the difficult choice right now to invest our money to make sure young people are safe. That is the right thing to do and the board has made that decision and stands behind it 100 percent and unanimously,” he added.
Organizers rushed earlier Monday to come up with plans to evacuate the scouts before the storm arrives.
No details have been given on where participants will stay until they return home, but Choi Chang-haeng, secretary general of the jamboree’s organizing committee, said organizers have secured more than 340 evacuation sites, including community centers and gyms, in regions near Buan.
About 40,000 scouts, mostly teenagers, from 158 countries came to the Jamboree at a campsite built on land reclaimed from the sea.
About 4,500 came from the UK, representing the largest national contingent, while about 1,000 came from the United States.
Those from the UK and US have been accommodated in hotels this weekend.
MailOnline revealed over the weekend how volunteers have been left “glowing over the lack of leadership” amid the chaos at the jamboree.
Ahead of news of the emerging storm, the World Organization of the Scout Movement on Saturday called for the event to be suspended in its entirety and asked South Korean organizers to “consider alternative options to end the event ahead of schedule and support the participants until they leave’. for their homeland.’
A handout photo made available by the South Korean Prime Minister’s Office shows Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (third right) posing for a photo with Scouts during an inspection of the ongoing World Scout Jamboree, Aug. 6
British scouts leave the World Scout Jamboree campsite in Buan on August 6
But the South Korean government conducted on-site inspections on Saturday and found that conditions were no longer as dire as claimed, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, adding that after consultations with participating countries, we have decided to continue the event without stopping.
Former jamboree leaders and volunteers have blamed the British contingent for censoring youth and leaders to expose ‘the true extent of the mess’, while a parent said their child thought ‘they were going to die’ amidst the sweltering heat.
One volunteer, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells MailOnline: “I am absolutely glowing with the lack of leadership at the top.” She added that the chaos was masked by leaders – and several volunteers believe that “if the true position had come to light sooner, the situation might have been much better.”
Scouts UK said it was ‘not aware’ of any form of censorship.
Temperatures reached 35C (95F) in Saemangeum, near the town of Buan on South Korea’s west coast, where 43,000 participants camped out on Friday.
Flags are displayed on a viewing platform overlooking the campground of the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla Province on August 5, 2023
Other parts of South Korea have surpassed 38C (100.4F), forcing the government to issue its highest heat warning in four years.
Among those in attendance is adventurer Bear Grylls – the UK’s Chief Scout since 2009 – who was filmed dripping with sweat giving a speech at the opening ceremony. He had urged people to keep calm before the UK withdrew members.
On Saturday, thousands of British children aged 14 to 17 packed their bags at the campsite. The first wave of children arrived at hotels in Seoul, where they were met by Gareth Weir, the British deputy ambassador to South Korea.
British scouts continued to evacuate to hotels throughout the weekend.