문 대통령, 안성•철원•충주•제천•음성•천안•아산 특별재난지역 선포 재가<br /><br />Unusually heavy rain has been wreaking havoc in South Korea for days now prompting floods and landslides.<br />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.<br />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.<br />Eum Ji-young leads our coverage this evening.<br />The damage is mounting from the heavy downpours that have slammed South Korea, especially Seoul and the central region.<br />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.<br />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.<br />Friday afternoon, President Moon Jae-in approved the seven most severely impacted areas as "Special Disaster Zones," which will free up emergency relief funds.<br />These areas include Anseong city in Gyeonggi-do Province, Cheorwon city in Gangwon-do Province and parts of the Chungcheong-do Provinces.<br />"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."<br />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.<br />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.<br />In the last seven days, more than two-thousand six-hundred people have been affected, mostly in terms of property damage.<br />South Korea is expected to get up to 300 millimeters of rain until Saturday, accompanied by wind, thunder and lightning.<br />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.<br />Eum Ji-young Arirang News<br />
