South Korea's "guerrilla rains" returned on Friday, dumping up to 180 mm (7.2 inches) and wreaking more havoc across flood-ravaged areas, officials said.
Weather forecasters said a break in the weather was unlikely before Monday and issued a heavy rain alert for the capital, Seoul, late on Friday.
"Rain clouds are moving toward the northeast tip of the country again," an official at the Korea Meteorological Administration said on Friday night.
"The rains are likely to ease off from next Monday."
"We believe the rains will not be as damaging as the past weeks, but we should brace ourselves all the same," he added.
The National Disaster Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters renewed flood warnings along the Nakdong River in central and southern areas of the country.
South Korean media have dubbed the storm fronts "the guerrilla rains" because they have struck when least expected -- during what should be the height of the dry season.
The death toll has reached 268 with 72 missing from the last two weeks of rain, which have also caused damage of at least 880 billion won ($667 million), a figure that has mounted by the day.
Officials held out little hope of many survivors among those missing in one of the worst weather-related disasters South Korea has seen since Typhoon Sarah killed 850 people 30 years ago.
Seoul and other northern regions received 70 to 80 percent of their annual average rainfall in the first 10 days of August, the meteorological office said.
The southwestern city of Kwangju was pelted by 120 mm (4.8 inches) on Thursday, a weather official said.
A heavy rain warning was still in place in the region, which was likely to see another 150 mm (six inches) on Friday, the disaster-prevention headquarters said.
The rain-induced disasters have left 150,000 people homeless, damaged or destroyed 1,500 homes and some 3,000 roads and bridges, and washed away about 9,000 graves, the statement said.
Three railway lines remain closed.
South Korea was already grappling with a severe economic crisis which had bankrupt businesses, caused mass layoffs and forced it to accept an International Monetary Fund bailout.
Troops and workers worked to clear 140,000 tonnes of trash left behind from the floods while volunteers and Red Cross workers gave medical aid to flood victims, the disaster-prevention headquarters said.
A central bank official said the damage to factories and farmland could cause a sharper economic contraction than the four percent contraction officially forecast for this year.
($1 = 1,332 won)