Torrential rains devastate Korea — in pictures

Torrential rains in Korea caused fatalities, school closures and evacuations, prompting a national emergency alert for continued heavy rain.

Rescue workers from the Chungcheong-Gangwon 119 Special Rescue Team under the National 119 Rescue Headquarters evacuate a resident by boat in Yesan County, South Chungcheong, on the morning of July 17 following record rainfall in the region. [NEWS1]

Record-breaking rainfall swept across Korea on Thursday, paralyzing transportation, collapsing infrastructure and triggering deadly floods that upended daily life.

At least two people were confirmed dead, more than 400 schools suspended classes and emergency officials ordered evacuations from vulnerable areas as rivers breached their banks and roads were submerged beneath muddy waters. Authorities raised the national emergency alert to its highest level, urging residents to avoid rivers and low-lying areas with heavy rain expected to continue through the weekend.

Here are some of the scenes captured during Thursday's relentless downpour.

A village in Sapgyo-eup, Yesan County, South Chungcheong is submerged following heavy rainfall on July 17. [YONHAP]

Residents affected by heavy downpour in South Chungcheong rest at an emergency shelter set up at Godeok Middle School in Yesan County on July 17. Around 50 people from Yong-ri, Guman-ri and Hapo-ri have taken refuge at the shelter, but a shortage of basic supplies — including temporary living facilities and emergency relief items — is leaving evacuees in difficult conditions. [NEWS1]

Traffic slows as a road in Hak-dong, Dong District, Gwangju, is submerged in muddy water on July 17 in this photo provided by a reader to Yonhap. [YONHAP]

Police assist with the evacuation of a resident of Songjin 2-ri, Dochon-myeon, Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang, on the afternoon of July 17. Changnyeong County sent out a disaster alert asking residents to move to a nearby community center after 272 millimeters (10.7 inches) of rain fell in Dochon between midnight and 3:55 p.m. [YONHAP]

A cow escapes from a flooded cattle shed in Yong-ri, Godeok-myeon, Yesan County, South Chungcheong, after record-breaking rainfall on July 17. [NEWS1]

People walk through a waterlogged street at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul as heavy rain falls across the country on the morning of July 17. [NEWS1]

Bongun-ro in Bongsan-myeon, Yesan County, South Chungcheong, is covered in mud and debris following a landslide as heavy rain hit central regions on July 17. [YONHAP]

A shop owner sweeps out rainwater from a flooded store in Baegun-dong, Nam District, Gwangju, on July 17, as a heavy rain warning went into effect. [NEWS1]

A notice on a digital display at Daejeon Station in Jeong-dong, Dong District, Daejeon, announces suspended and delayed train services on the morning of July 17, as heavy rain drenches central regions. Korail said general train operations between Seoul and Daejeon on the Gyeongbu Line were temporarily halted from 4:30 a.m. [YONHAP]

Vehicles are submerged on a flooded road in Shinyong-dong, Buk District, Gwangju, as torrential rain batters the city on July 17 in this photo provided by a third party to Yonhap. [YONHAP]

Horses graze in the rain at a pasture in Yonggang-dong, Jeju, as a heavy rain advisory is issued for the island’s mountainous areas on July 17. [YONHAP]

Streams of rainwater pour from the eaves of Gyeonggijeon Shrine in the Jeonju Hanok Village in North Jeolla as a heavy rain advisory is issued across the province on July 17. [NEWS1]

Merchants clean up their goods at Dangjin Traditional Market in Eumnae-dong, Dangjin, South Chungcheong, after flooding caused damage amid a heavy rain advisory across the Chungcheong region on July 17. [NEWS1]

A firefighter clears a fallen roadside tree at an intersection in Ibang-myeon, Jeongeup, North Jeolla, at around 1:11 p.m. on July 17. [JEONBUK FIRE AGENCY]

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]