The heaviest snowfall in more than a century on South Korea's east coast is causing widespread chaos. Hundreds of houses have collapsed under the weight of the snow and a report described it as a snow bomb. The South Korean government has deployed 12,000 soldiers to rescue stranded residents. The worst weather has been in Gangwon province where, one city recorded 80 cm of snow in a single day, the heaviest fall in 24 hours since records began there back in 1911. Weather experts say there will be more snowfall in the area in the coming hours. Reports in Seoul say although winters are colder than anywhere else at its latitude, with frequent frost and snow, this year has been different. January was the coldest since the 1960s.