The number of casualties from the ongoing wildfires in the country’s southeastern region has increased to 65, including 28 deaths. 

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of 6 a.m. Friday 28 people were dead, while nine were seriously injured and 28 suffered minor injuries. 

As of 5 a.m., firefighting efforts are underway in Uiseong, Andong, Yeongdeok, Yeongyang and Cheonsong, North Gyeongsang Province; and Sancheong and Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province.

More than eight-thousand people remain displaced after being forced to evacuate. 

Authorities estimate that the wildfires destroyed about three-thousand-480 buildings, including homes, factories and cultural assets, and a record 48-thousand-150 hectares of forestland.

The earlier record was 23-thousand-794 hectares, set in 2000 when wildfires devastated the east coast of Gangwon Province.