The emergency response posture of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters was elevated to “Level Two” on Tuesday night with heavy rain warnings issued for Jeju Island and southern areas in the Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said that the headquarters’ posture was raised by one notch in the three-tier system as of 11:45 p.m., a day after a “Level One” emergency response was activated.

The ministry also raised the heavy rain crisis alert level for the country by one notch to the second-highest of the four-tier system.

The headquarters ordered relevant authorities to ban access to dangerous areas such as rivers and valleys and to act swiftly to prevent mudslides in the wildfire-hit areas.

Kim Sung-ho, head of the ministry’s disaster and safety management headquarters, held an emergency inspection meeting with related organizations to check preparedness for heavy rains.

Meanwhile, fire authorities are conducting a search after a 68-year-old floodgate operator went missing in a rural village in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province, on Monday night.