(2nd LD) Heat wave expected to grip S. Korea after heavy rain stops

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SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Yonhap) -- Sweltering heat is expected to take over South Korea after heavy rains that caused the worst-ever floods stop on Sunday afternoon, the country's weather service said Saturday.

The rainy season is forecast to end on Sunday afternoon across the nation, and a heat wave will then grip the country, said the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

With heat wave warnings reported for most parts of the country, mid-day highs are forecast to range between 33 C and 35 C until next week, the agency said.

Nighttime lows are expected to reach more than 25 C, so the tropical night phenomenon is predicted to occur, it said.

Ahead of the heat wave forecast, a heavy rain advisory has been lifted for some parts of Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, as well as Gangwon province, amid a decrease in precipitation.

The agency said as of 12:30 p.m., it has canceled previously issued warnings for 24 regions in Gyeonggi and the city of Suwon, as the amount of rain has decreased markedly. It said similar action has been taken for the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul, as well as Gangwha Island and small islands of Ongjin County.

The agency, however, said weather advisories are in place in some regions in Gyeonggi, such as Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, and the cities of Incheon and Yeoju to the east of the capital.

The KMA also said the heavy rain alert for all of Seoul has been lifted, even though some neighborhoods received over 60 millimeters of rain earlier Saturday.

The state weather forecaster and local authorities said that although rainfall is falling off, people need to be on guard for landslides, particularly in places such as Chungcheong Province that has reported upward of 250 billion won (US$210 million) in rain-related damage so far.

It urged people to watch out for sudden flooding and damage to crops and farmlands, as rain is expected to continue falling at least until Sunday.

yonngong@yna.co.kr
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