Heavy rain in South Korea has killed at least 17 people with 11 others unaccounted for in the intense downpours.

Close to 170mm (6.7in) of rain hit the resort town of Gapyeong county in Gyeonggi province, 40 miles east of Seoul, early on Sunday. A landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles.

The number of casualties rose as bodies of those previously reported missing – many swept away in landslides – were recovered.

The confirmed number of deaths from the five-day deluge stood at 17, according to official data. Scientists say climate change has made extreme weather events more frequent and intense around the world.

The downpours started on Wednesday, mainly hitting the southern and central parts of the country. Northern regions were affected on Sunday morning.

A woman in her 70s was killed when her house collapsed in a landslide in Gapyeong, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Most of the deaths were in the southern county of Sancheong, which has had nearly 800mm of rain since Wednesday.

South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July and is usually well prepared. But this week it suffered some of the heaviest hourly rainfall on record. The downpours are likely to be followed by a heatwave, the government weather forecaster said.

In 2022, South Korea endured record-breaking rains and flooding that killed at least 11 people.