Rain forecast to bring relief to drought-hit South Korea over long weekend

SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- Rain is forecast across South Korea over the upcoming three-day weekend, the national weather agency said Thursday, likely bringing relief to southern regions suffering from a severe drought.

Sudden showers are forecast for inland parts of the country Saturday before nationwide rain over the next two days due to a low pressure system advancing from Shanghai, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The upcoming long weekend runs through Monday -- an alternative holiday for Liberation Day, which falls on Saturday this year.

The forecast comes as southern parts of the country, especially the southeastern province of South Gyeongsang, have seen water storage levels drop due to low precipitation in recent months.

Between July 12 and Aug. 11, southern parts of the country received 58.5 millimeters of rain, roughly one-fourth of the long-term average of 241.9 mm over the cited period.

Precipitation in South Gyeongsang and the southeastern cities of Busan and Ulsan totaled just 16.6 mm over the period, marking the lowest level for the timeframe since 1973, when the country established a nationwide weather observation network.

South Gyeongsang's reservoir water storage rate stood at 32.3 percent on Thursday, far below the long-term average of 70.8 percent, according to the Rural Agricultural Water Resource Information System.

Authorities issued a national firefighting mobilization order for the province on Tuesday and have deployed firefighting water tankers across the nation to supply water to drought-hit areas.