Heavy rain soaked parts of the country's central regions Monday, stranding villagers in the central-east city of Andong and prompting the interior ministry to raise its heavy rain alert to "caution." As of early Monday morning, southern parts of the Chungcheong region and northern parts of North Gyeongsang Province experienced rainfall as heavy as 50 millimeters per hour, with heavy rain warnings in place. Other parts of the central regions are also expected to receive precipitation of about 30 mm per hour in the day. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the country's disaster control tower, activated the first stage of its three-stage response posture, while the heavy rain alert was raised to "caution," the second-highest level in the four-level system, according to the interior ministry. Heavy overnight rain stranded 18 residents in two rural villages of Andong, 192 kilometers southeast of Seoul, early Monday morning. Seven of them had been rescued by emergency rescuers, while efforts were under way to evacuate the remaining residents. Source: Yonhap News Agency