ANKARA

The death toll from ongoing torrential rains and flooding in South Korea has risen to four as two more people died, while one person is still missing as authorities evacuated thousands of people from flood-hit areas, Yonhap News reported on Friday.

The deaths were reported from the city of Seosan in the south Chungcheong province while one person swept away by a river in Gwangju in the southwest is missing.

Local authorities said they evacuated 5,192 people in 13 different cities and provinces after flooding while rain and floods also damaged 496 public and 276 private properties.

Heavy rain also disrupted ferry service in some areas.

On Thursday, the South Korean government raised the weather-related disaster alert to its highest level, "serious," in response to the growing damage caused by the ongoing heavy rainfall.

On Thursday weather officials said Seosan, the hardest-hit area, saw up to 344 millimeters (13.5 inches) of rain since Wednesday evening.

In a single hour – between 1.46 am and 2.46 am – the city saw 114.9 mm (4.5 inches) of rain, the highest hourly total for July since weather records began there in 1968.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid