SEOUL, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and one went missing as days of torrential rain hit South Korea's central and southern regions, the interior ministry said Friday.
Four fatalities were confirmed and one man remained unaccounted for at 6:00 a.m. local time (2100 GMT Thursday), according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
A retaining wall collapsed onto a moving vehicle in Gyeonggi province on Wednesday, killing a driver in his 40s.
A man in his 60s was found in cardiac arrest inside a flooded vehicle in South Chungcheong province early Thursday. He was transported to a nearby hospital but died.
Two other men in their 80s were found dead in floods later on Thursday.
A search was underway for a missing man who was reported on Thursday night to have been swept away by river currents near a bridge in South Jeolla province.
The downpour forced 5,192 people to evacuate their homes, with 4,531 remaining in temporary shelters as of Friday morning.
South Jeolla, South Chungcheong and South Gyeongsang provinces were pounded by the heaviest rain, with the rainfall ranging from 376.0 mm to 445.0 mm for 53 hours through 5:00 a.m. local time on Friday.
The government raised its rain-related disaster alert to the highest level of "serious" to mobilize all possible measures.
A total of 496 public and 276 private property damage cases were reported, including flooded roads and buildings, soil losses and collapsed river embankments.
The weather agency expected more rain to batter the country until Saturday. ■
