Seoul: Two individuals have lost their lives and approximately 1,000 residents have been evacuated due to heavy rains affecting central regions of the nation. Authorities have issued warnings about more rainfall in the coming days as the weather front moves northward. The government's disaster response teams have elevated Chungcheong provinces and the southern part of Gyeonggi Province to the second-highest alert level.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a tragic incident occurred on Wednesday when a retaining wall collapsed onto a moving vehicle in Osan, located 52 kilometers south of Seoul, resulting in the death of the driver. In a separate incident in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, a man was found in cardiac arrest inside a flooded vehicle and later died in the hospital. Two additional minor injuries, including hypothermia, were reported in Seosan and Buyeo, with Seosan experiencing the most severe rainfall, recording 344 mm since Wednesday evening.

Seosan experienced an unprecedented rainfall of 114.9 mm in just one hour, marking the highest hourly rainfall for July since 1968. In Cheongyang, South Chungcheong Province, heavy rain caused a landslide that briefly trapped two residents, who were later rescued and treated for leg injuries. Meanwhile, Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province recorded 67.4 mm of rain per hour, the second-highest in the region. Authorities have issued 26 emergency text alerts for heavy rain nationwide, with 25 directed at the Chungcheong area.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) issues alerts when hourly rainfall exceeds 50 mm, three-hour cumulative rainfall surpasses 90 mm, or when one-hour rainfall exceeds 72 mm. Rain is predicted to continue until Saturday, with expected rainfall of 50 to 150 mm in the greater Seoul area and Chungcheong Province, 30 to 100 mm in North Jeolla Province, and 20 to 80 mm in Gwangju and South Jeolla Provinces. Southern regions like Ulsan and Busan are forecasted to receive 100 to 200 mm of rain starting Friday.