Recovery underway in South Korea’s rain-hit capital area

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Cleanup and recovery efforts gained pace in South Korea’s greater capital region Wednesday. Skies cleared after two days of record-breaking rainfall that unleashed flash floods, damaged thousands of buildings and roads and killed at least nine people. While lifting heavy rain warnings for Seoul and the neighboring metropolitan areas, South Korea’s weather agency forecasted 4 to 12 inches of rain in the country’s southern regions through Thursday. Seven people remain missing in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi Province following the heavy rains that swamped the region Monday and Tuesday. Streets had turned into car-clogged rivers, sending floods cascading into subway stations, and displacing more than 1,800 people from their homes.