[Anchor]

Today (August 16), the second day of the holiday weekend, rain fell across various parts of the country. In particular, farmers in the Gyeongsangnam-do region, who have suffered through a severe drought lasting more than two months, expressed relief, calling the rain a lifesaver. The national firefighting mobilization order, which had been in place for four days, has also been lifted.

Reporter Jang Min-seong has the details.

[Reporter]

Water is filling up previously empty reservoirs, and puddles are forming in field furrows that had dried up due to the intense heat and drought.

Much-needed and welcome rain has finally fallen on Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do, which had been severely parched for over two months after entering the drought "attention" stage last June.

[Ahn Jong-gu / Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do: This rain is truly a lifesaver. (Have you ever experienced a drought like this?) Oh, never. I am 67 years old now, and I have never seen anything like this.]

Heavy raindrops are also pouring down onto the parched carrot fields.

Farmers who had been agonizing over extreme heat and a lack of rain for over a month are now able to ease their worries.

[Kim Dong-hyun / Gujwa-eup, Jeju City: It was so frustrating and kept me up at night because there was practically no rain, but it is such a relief that rain has finally fallen.]

This round of rain is expected to provide some help in alleviating the nationwide drought that has lasted for over two months.

It was observed that 57 mm of rain fell today alone in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do, which had suffered from severe drought.

Six areas, including Miryang, Geoje, Uiryeong, Haman, Changnyeong, and Ulju-gun in Ulsan, had been classified under the "severe" drought stage as their agricultural water reservoir levels fell below 40% of normal years.

Fire engines from the Gyeonggi and Gangwon regions had even been mobilized to provide water supply support to prevent drought damage, but the national firefighting mobilization order that continued for four days was completely lifted yesterday evening alongside news of this rain.

While the rain that fell today was not enough to completely resolve the drought that has persisted for over two months, an additional 50 to 150 mm of rain is forecasted to fall in the Gyeongsangnam-do region through tomorrow, which is expected to bring breathing room for crop management and other agricultural needs.

(Video Journalist: Kang Myeong-cheol (JIBS), Jeon Jae-hyeon (KNN) | Video Editing: Kim Ho-jin | Design: Cho Su-in)