Workers excavate a stream in Yangchon village, Jinjeon-myeon, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, to secure agricultural water. [South Gyeongsang Province]
Workers excavate a stream in Yangchon village, Jinjeon-myeon, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, to secure agricultural water. [South Gyeongsang Province]

Heavy rain is forecast for South Gyeongsang Province during the Liberation Day holiday weekend, raising hopes that the region's severe drought — severe enough to prompt a national fire mobilization order — may finally ease. The Korea Meteorological Administration has predicted more than 100mm of rainfall in parts of the province on Saturday and Sunday.

The administration said Friday that rain will fall across Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening, with 50 to 100mm expected across the region. The southern coast of South Gyeongsang and areas near Jirisan could receive more than 150mm, it said. If the forecast holds, the Liberation Day holiday weekend is expected to mark a turning point in the province's drought crisis.

On Thursday, only Yangsan, among the province's 18 cities and counties, recorded any rainfall — just 2.9mm between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. — which did little to alleviate the drought.

As of Thursday, drought damage had spread across 2,762 hectares of farmland, affecting rice paddies, fruit orchards growing sweet persimmons, pears and apples, and field crops including soybeans, sesame and peppers. Damage included withering, leaf blight and fruit cracking. The affected area grew by 362 hectares from 2,400 hectares the previous day.

The average agricultural reservoir storage rate across the province's 18 cities and counties stood at 32.2 percent as of Thursday, down sharply from the seasonal norm of 70.6 percent, as drought conditions continued to worsen.


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