SEOUL (Reuters)

Two people died and more than 1,000 have been evacuated in South Korea after the country was lashed by torrential rain on Thursday (July 17), the safety ministry said.

As of 11 am local time (0200 GMT), some parts of the South Chungcheong region to the south of the capital Seoul had seen more than 400 millimetres (15.7 inches) of rain since Wednesday, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.

The downpours resulted in record rainfall in the area and more wet weather was forecast for Thursday night, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

Landslide alerts were raised to the highest level for several regions including Chungcheong as the heavy rains continued, according to the Korea Forest Service.

In the city of Gwangju, some 267 kilometres (166 miles) south of Seoul, 87 roads and 38 buildings were submerged within about two hours after torrential rain warnings were issued, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

Some 403 schools were closed and 166 reported property damage from the heavy rain, the Ministry of Education said.