Tropical Storm Khanun, which hit Japan before taking a circuitous route to the Korean Peninsula, made landfall around 09:20 local time (0020 GMT) in the south and is expected to move north, spreading heavy rain throughout the country, the South Korean weather agency said.
More than 10,000 people have been evacuated and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has urged local governments to ‘check whether residents in high-risk areas have failed to evacuate’ and ensure they do so .
Typhoon warnings have been issued across the country, with downpours of up to 500 millimeters forecast in northeast coastal areas and 100 to 200 millimeters in and around Seoul through Friday morning.
The capital was hit by heavy rain and southern Busan battered by strong winds, with pedestrians struggling to walk in gusts blowing at around 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour). Many shops and cafes have been closed.
At least 330 flights were canceled on Thursday and shipping and rail routes were closed, officials said.
More than 1,500 kindergartens and schools have been closed or delayed their class hours or moved classes online due to the typhoon, according to the Ministry of Education.
The typhoon had already prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of Scouts from their jamboree campsite in the south earlier this week.
All their activities have been moved to stay strictly indoors, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said, adding that police and firefighters were patrolling to prevent any accidents due to the typhoon.
No typhoon casualties were reported Thursday afternoon, but a handful of people were rescued by rescuers in North Gyeongsang province, some trapped in an underground tunnel and others trapped in a barn, according to Yonhap Press Agency.
Photos worn by Yonhap showed cars parked on flooded roads as a lone woman waded through knee-deep rainwater in the southern coastal city of Changwon, which received more than 110 millimeters of rain in just three hours.
Alerts in Japan
In Japan, the storm prompted some southern districts of the Miyazaki region to issue its highest alert overnight, urging residents to “protect their lives immediately” amid the risk of rain-triggered landslides. was increasing.
Lower-level evacuation notices have also been issued in parts of Ehime, Kochi and Oita areas, according to the broadcaster. NHK.
More than 10,000 homes on the island of Kyushu were left without power due to the 9 a.m. storm on Thursday.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled about 80 flights in total for Thursday, spokespersons said AFP.
The South Korean government has asked the public to “refrain from going outside and stay safe inside until the typhoon passes”, according to the Interior Ministry.
More than 40 people have been killed by floods and landslides in South Korea during monsoon rains this year, including an incident where vehicles were trapped in an underground tunnel by flash floods.
South Korea also suffered record rains and floods last year that killed more than 11 people.
Among them, three people were trapped in a Seoul basement apartment of the kind that became internationally known thanks to the Oscar-winning Korean film “Parasite”.
The government said at the time that the 2022 floods were the heaviest rainfall since records began 115 years ago, blaming climate change for the extreme weather.
