(LEAD) Damage from heavy rain mounts, flights, train services cancelled

(ATTN: RECASTS headline and lead; UPDATES with additional information, minor changes in paras 2-5)

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- As South Korea entered its annual rainy season with a typhoon approaching its shores on Sunday, heavy rain drenched the entire country, resulting in floods and cancelled flights and railway services.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has preemptively sent officials to provincial governments nationwide to check and contain damage caused by the year's seventh typhoon, "Prapiroon."

Two officials will be stationed in each of the eight metropolitan cities and nine provinces in the country to prepare for heavy rains and possible landslides, the ministry said.

Torrential rains have hit the nation hard since Saturday, causing houses and rice paddies to flood and some railway services to stop.

A total of 486 trails in 18 national parks have been closed as of Sunday while the Cheonggye Stream in downtown Seoul has been closed to pedestrians since late Saturday. Six flights to and from Japan have been cancelled, along with more than a dozen domestic flights.

At 5 p.m. the ministry will convene a video conference with disaster officials throughout the country to check up on the natural disaster preparations. With the typhoon quickly nearing the peninsula, the government is considering setting up a disaster center to better coordinate safety measures.

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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