SEOUL (Reuters) -Torrential rains that lashed South Korea for a fourth day on Saturday kept nearly 3,000 people from returning to their homes, while livestock were stranded up to the neck in rising waters as the death toll reached four with two missing, authorities said.

The death toll from ongoing torrential rains and flooding in South Korea has risen to nine as five more people died, while two people are still missing as authorities evacuated thousands of people from flood-hit areas, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Saturday.

Heavy rains pounded South Korea for a third day on Friday in a deluge that has killed at least four people, forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and destroyed property and infrastructure.