S Korea: President Lee vows to overhaul disaster-prevention systems, tighten safety standards

Yonhap reports that after at least 69 people were killed or are still missing in landslides and flash floods following the heaviest rainfall in nearly a century battered the country late last month, President Lee Myung-bak blamed the torrential rains on climate change, and called for greater efforts to battle the phenomenon. He announced a project aimed at refurbishing the country's four major rivers in order to prevent floods by quadrupling the number of anti-disaster facilities.

"The government's priorities include comprehensive reexamination of existing disaster-prevention systems and strengthening the safety and disaster prevention standards," Lee said.