문 대통령, 안성•철원•충주•제천•음성•천안•아산 특별재난지역 선포 재가
Unusually heavy rain has been wreaking havoc in South Korea for days now prompting floods and landslides.
Seven of the most heavily affected areas have been designated "Special Disaster Zones" which will free up emergency relief funds for those in the region.
But severe weather is still forecast for this part of the world with up to 300 millimeters of rain expected for parts of this country tonight.
Eum Ji-young leads our coverage this evening.
The damage is mounting from the heavy downpours that have slammed South Korea, especially Seoul and the central region.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, as of 4:30 PM on Friday, 17 people have died since the start of August and 10 are unaccounted for.
This does not include the one death and five people still missing after a private inflatable boat and a patrol boat capsized Thursday as they attempted to rescue crew on a police boat at a dam in Gangwon-do Province.
Friday afternoon, President Moon Jae-in approved the seven most severely impacted areas as "Special Disaster Zones," which will free up emergency relief funds.
These areas include Anseong city in Gyeonggi-do Province, Cheorwon city in Gangwon-do Province and parts of the Chungcheong-do Provinces.
"Local governments and the central government together have measured the amount of damage and have designated the seven Special Disaster Zones to get support to these areas quickly."
If a region is designated as a special disaster zone, the local authorities can get 50 to 80 percent of the money they need for restoration work from the central government.
Also, residents who've had property damage or who've lost their livelihoods, can get disaster relief funds and will have some public utility charges waived.
In the last seven days, more than two-thousand six-hundred people have been affected, mostly in terms of property damage.
South Korea is expected to get up to 300 millimeters of rain until Saturday, accompanied by wind, thunder and lightning.
Some parts of the country are forecast to see 30 to 50 millimeters of rain per hour including parts of Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do and the Chungcheong-do Provinces.
Eum Ji-young Arirang News