Anchor: Worries over a prolonged drought are resurfacing, just when monsoon rains appeared to have resolved the dry spell. The nation could see long periods of drought as the amount of rainfall this summer was only half that posted in previous years and forecasts for the fall don’t look promising.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: The water supply level at Boryeong Dam, considered to be the lifeline of South Chungcheong Province's southern regions, has been rated as serious, the first time a multipurpose dam in South Korea has received such a designation. 
 
The designation came after the dam's reserves slipped below 30 percent of capacity on August 18th.
 
The most severe of a five-tier system, dams receiving a serious designation must reduce the amount of water they supply for residential and industrial purposes.
 
The Soyangang Dam and Chungju Dam on the Han River also launched emergency operations from June by reducing the amount of water they release.
 
The water levels at the two dams fell far short as the amount of rain that fell in the dams stood at only 40 percent of years prior.
 
Monsoon season from June to July brought little relief as rains carried in by typhoons mostly missed the central region.
 
The Korea Meteorological Administration estimated that between June first and August 22, 45 areas in the nation saw an average of 351-point-two millimeters of rain, only 55 percent of the average rainfall during the period.
 
Rainfall between June and July stood at 62 percent of previous years. The weather agency blamed the drop on the seasonal rain front remaining in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and failing to fully develop due to typhoons.
 
The Korea Meteorological Administration has forecast that the fall, like the summer, will bring little rain.
 
An official of the weather agency forecast that the nation will often see clear, sunny days between September and October, adding that the amount of rainfall is expected to be lower or similar to previous years.
 
If the fall brings little rain, drought in the central region is highly likely to extend into next year.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.