SEOUL: A heavy rain watch was issued across parts of northern Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday, with 100 millimeters of rain per hour pouring in the border city of Paju, the state weather agency said.

As of 7 a.m., heavy downpours of 100.9 mm per hour had been pounding Munsan, a town in Paju, 37 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The accumulated precipitation recorded 269 mm in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, 148.3 mm in Munsan, and 127 mm in nearby Yeoncheon County as of 7 a.m.

The KMA sent out emergency text alerts warning of torrential rain in the areas on 10 occasions from 4:24 a.m. to 7:45 a.m., in what marks the first time this year such a warning was issued in the greater Seoul area.

The alert was also issued across many parts of Seoul, including in Seongbuk District and Jongno District, with heavy rainfall of over 50 mm per hour pounding the areas as of 9:20 a.m.

The heavy rain alerts are issued when the rainfall exceeds 50 mm per ho
ur or 90 mm in three hours, and in the case the hourly precipitation rate exceeds 72 mm.

Over 200 cases of damage had been reported to firefighters and the police as of 8:30 a.m., and the roads were off-limits due to the heavy downpour in over 20 regions in northern Gyeonggi Province as of 7:30 a.m., officials said.

The KMA said 30 to 60 mm of rain is expected to continue pounding northern Gyeonggi Province and the northern part of Gangwon Province in the morning.

Seoul and southern Gyeonggi Province are forecast to receive rainfall of around 30 mm per hour.

Source: Yonhap News Agency