Seoul metropolitan area to get up to 80mm of rain Monday

Rain is expected to inundate much of the country, while dry regions will experience a heatwave.

A child and an adult hold umbrellas while crossing a road in Wanju County, North Jeolla, as rain falls on Sunday. [NEWS1]

Heavy monsoon rain is expected to soak the central regions on Monday.

Around 30 to 80 millimeters (1.1 to 3.1 inches) of rain is expected in the greater Seoul area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi, as well as the inland and mountainous regions of Gangwon and the Chungcheong area, including Daejeon and Sejong. Some parts of Seoul, Incheon, southern Gyeonggi, Gangwon and the west coast of South Chungcheong may see precipitation exceeding 100 millimeters. Up to 60 millimeters is forecast to drench North Jeolla and parts of North Gyeongsang.

Heavy rain battered parts of Chungcheong over the weekend, with Yugu-eup in Gongju inundated with 127 millimeters of rain as of 3 p.m. Sunday.

Rain will start falling in the greater Seoul area in the morning. The national weather forecaster has issued preliminary heavy rain alerts for Monday morning.

Most parts of the Korean Peninsula will see cloudy skies throughout the day.

Heavy rain will arrive as troughs of low pressure pass through the central regions on Monday and Tuesday. Regions not seeing rain are expected to experience sticky weather, with the heat index in southern regions reaching as high as 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit).

On Sunday morning, heat wave advisories were issued for Gwangju and parts of South Jeolla.

According to the weather forecaster, the Korean Peninsula is likely to see rain the entire week.

As the monsoon front arrives, local governments are devising measures and conducting safety checks to prevent flooding in facilities and households. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Sunday that it will inspect some 15,000 basement houses in the capital that require flood-prevention systems. The 10-day inspection is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Around 300 architects will check these houses to ensure that the systems are properly installed.

The city government said it will support those living in houses at high risk of flooding by temporarily moving them to public rental housing during the monsoon season. Around 350 public housing units are available for those living in basement houses prone to flooding.

The city government has been investigating the condition of basement houses since 2022 and has overseen 28,000 houses in need of flood prevention. The local government plans to reduce the number of basement houses in the long term.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO,CHUN KWON-PIL [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]