SEOUL: The rescuers recovered three more bodies, who were swept away in the floods in South Korea, on Tuesday, taking the total death toll to 44, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Marine Corps rescuers found the body of a woman in Yecheon, and a police rescue dog found another woman in her 70s in piles of wood shortly after noon, fire authorities said.
Later in the day, the body of a male victim was also found in the same county.
The three were among the nine people who remained missing as of Tuesday morning in the aftermath of the landslides and floods caused by the heavy rains, which have pounded the country since early last week, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Around 5,685 of 13,459 evacuees in 15 cities and provinces still remain in shelters, according to the government. The rain has damaged 316,064 hectares of farmland, equivalent to 43,000 football fields.
On Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol blamed authorities’ failure to follow disaster response rules as the death toll from days of torrential rain grew, including a dozen people found dead in a submerged underpass, CNA reported.
Meanwhile, deluges have also pummelled central and southern regions since Thursday as the rainy season that started in late June reaches its peak. The interior ministry has also reported nine people missing and 34 injured across the nation.
As the rescuers continue an operation to drain and search the flooded underpass, where more than 17 vehicles are believed to be submerged, the number of casualties is expected to rise, Yonhap news agency reported.
10,765 people have been evacuated from their homes due to rain damage, Yonhap news agency reported citing the office.
Also, 789 public facilities and 352 other private properties, mostly located in the southern part of the country, have been damaged as a result of the downpour.
A total of 4,348 people from 2,473 households across the nation have not been able to return to their homes due to temporary evacuation.
More than 500 millimetres of rain have pounded central and lower regions since July 9, including 626 mm in Gongju, South
Chungcheong Province, 614 mm in the nearby county of Cheongyang, 580 mm in the central city of Sejong and 522 mm in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, Yonhap news agency reported citing the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
As of Monday morning, heavy rain warnings were in place for the Chungcheong provinces, southern regions and Jeju Island, and the weather agency said the Jeolla provinces and nearby areas may experience further rain of up to 40 mm per hour.
Through Tuesday, up to 200 mm of rain has been forecast for Chungcheong and southern regions, and between 10 mm to 100 mm for the rest of the country, Yonhap news agency reported. (ANI)