The weather authorities forecast sudden heavy downpours for some central parts of the country, including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday night or early Friday morning. Affected by the seasonal rain front, precipitation is expected to range from 100 millimeters to 400 mm and heavy rain is expected to continue until Sunday.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety ran the initial stage of the central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters starting at 5 p.m. Meteorological authorities issued heavy rain advisories and warnings for those areas.

"The ministry has called on related ministries and provincial governments to beef up monitoring of areas that can be affected by the rain and ensure a readiness posture for swift traffic control and emergency support in the event of a collapse of steep slopes," the ministry said.

The ministry also asked citizens to frequently check weather information and refrain from travelling to dangerous areas, such as mountain valleys, streams and coastal spots, in times of torrential rain. (Yonhap)