Heavy rain in S. Korea continues with eyes on weekend weather

Since Wednesday, South Korea has been facing the strongest recorded torrential rain in around 200 years.

Heavy rain advisories have been lifted in some northern areas, but southern parts of the country remain on high alert.

Park Jun-han starts us off.

Torrential rain across South Korea this week has so far caused the deaths of four people, with two still listed as missing as of this morning.

During the period, over 5-thousand-6-hundred people have been evacuated from their places of residence.

The sudden torrential rain caused widespread flooding in many areas, including residential and commercial districts, as well as agricultural regions.

Around 13-thousand hectares of farmland have been affected by flooding — equivalent to 18-thousand soccer fields.

As of Friday, there were around 900 damage reports in Gwangju, a city that has been one of the most severely hit by the downpours.

The government raised its severe weather alert level to Stage 3 on Thursday, its highest response level.

Large parts of South Korea have experienced serious flooding that has interfered with response services, as well as daily activities.

Roads, buildings and farmland have been inundated, railroads blocked, and rivers and streams have overflowed their banks.

Many schools were forced to cancel classes or adjust operating hours.

The Korea Meteorological Administration lifted heavy rain warnings and advisories for Seoul, northern Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do provinces as of 4 PM Friday.

But despite this, southern regions of the country remain vulnerable, having already suffered significant damage and still facing the risk of further flooding.

The heavy rainfall will continue until this weekend, especially in Chungcheongnam-do Province and southern regions.

"Heavy rain will continue through tomorrow, with up to 50 millimeters per hour expected tonight and tomorrow morning. Some areas could see up to 200 millimeters, with southern regions possibly experiencing up to 300 millimeters of rainfall."

The government said it will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and take appropriate action where necessary.

Park Jun-han, Arirang News.