Anchor: Seasonal monsoon rains have battered the nation, leaving more than 40 people dead or missing and displacing some 78-hundred people. The government is stepping up restoration efforts as the nation reels from the torrential rains. However, fears of further damage are growing as the nation is set to see more downpours from Friday. Our Bae Joo-yon has the details.

Report: Heavy rainfall advisories that were issued throughout the nation have all been lifted as of Tuesday night after being in place for more than ten days. 

As of Wednesday morning, the torrential rains left 33 people dead, nine people missing and eight injured. 

The size of casualties is the largest to be posted since the landslides that occurred at Mount Woomyeon in Seoul’s Seocho District in 2011. 

Of some 78-hundred people who’ve been displaced in eleven cities and counties, roughly three-thousand have yet to return to their homes. 

The rains destroyed some 59-hundred houses and 25-hundred barns and warehouses. 

Though some 24-thousand facilities have been damaged by the rains, restoration work is 61 percent complete. Such efforts had failed to gain speed as downpours continued for days without stopping. 

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday underlined that speed is key in restoration efforts. However, such endeavors are expected to hit a snag as monsoon rains are expected to fall again from Friday. 

In a bid to preemptively help rain-battered regions, the government is expediting the designation of more regions as special disaster areas. It plans to designate more areas before the end of the week after designating seven cities and counties as special disaster areas last week. 

Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.