(LEAD) S. Korea raises landslide warning as heavy rain wreaks havoc

(ATTN: UPDATES paras 5, 7 with new death toll)

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- The government broadened its highest-level landslide warning across the country, with the exception of the southern island of Jeju, on Saturday as heavy rains continued to pummel southern and central parts of the country.

The Korea Forest Service on Friday night issued the "serious" warning, the highest on its four-tier scale, for 12 of the nation's 17 metropolises and provinces.

The agency raised the alert level for an additional four areas -- Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province -- to "serious" effective as of noon Saturday. Only Jeju remained under the second-highest warning.

Torrential rains have wreaked havoc across the country since Aug. 1 amid the prolonged monsoon season.

The death toll over the week rose to 22 on Saturday. Ten people went missing and seven were injured while more than 3,000 people were displaced, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and local governments.

There were 529 landsides triggered by heavy rain reported across the nation over the week, according to the agency.

Most recently, five people were killed after a landslide hit a rural town in Gokseong, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday night. About 30 residents were moved to a nearby elementary school.

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