The government activated “Level One” of its emergency response posture on Tuesday afternoon after a heavy rain watch was issued for the Seoul metro area and the Chungcheong provinces. 

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said the lowest level of the emergency response posture of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters was activated at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The ministry also raised the heavy rain crisis alert level for the country by one notch from “attention” to “caution.”

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast that the nation’s central inland areas, the inland regions of North Gyeongsang Province, the Jeolla Provinces, the southern coasts of South Gyeongsang Province and Jeju will see between 30 to 70 millimeters of rain per hour between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. 

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarter ordered related agencies to restrict access to areas prone to mudslides or floods, including coasts and valleys and to carry out emergency evacuations if deemed necessary. 

Vice interior and safety minister Han Chang-seob urged the public to refrain from going outside and keep monitoring weather conditions.