Typhoon Haishen was churning northward to the southern port city of Busan on Monday morning, bringing the country under its influence with heavy rains and strong winds, the weather agency said.
The season’s 10th typhoon was moving at a speed of 41 kph over waters some 40 kilometers southeast of Busan as of 8 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
With its central pressure at 996 hectopascals, the powerful typhoon is packing a maximum wind speed of 40 meters per second.
Its wind has slightly weakened from 43 meters per second estimated at 3 a.m.
As it was traveling closer to Busan, it cut off power, toppled trees and snapped a traffic light. Some 580 houses lost power in the southern part of the city.
A 57-year-old man was rescued by firefighters early in the morning after an elevator stopped working due to a power outage. A water tank was blown off the top of a house in the western part of the city. No casualties were reported.
The typhoon, packing high winds and torrential rains, triggered a landslide near a tunnel on the road connecting the city with Changwon. Also 23 riverside and oceanfront roads have been closed as a safety measure against flooding.
Trains running between Busan and nearby cities have been halted, while subways were operating as usual, with slower speeds on some open air routes.
As of 9 a.m., 298 flights have been grounded nationwide, according to the Korea Airports Corporation. A typhoon alert has been issued for all of the country’s airports. For Incheon, Jeju and Ulsan, a wind shear warning was in effect.
The typhoon was passing above seas 50 km northeast of the city, and was forecast to travel along the Korean Peninsula up its eastern coast until it makes landfall at Chongjin, North Korea, at midnight. It is expected to dissipate there.
“It is highly likely that the typhoon will weaken as it passes by the country due to the southern sea’s relatively cool temperature of less than 27 C, coupled with cool air in the upper atmosphere and strong wind,” a KMA official said, forecasting it to be downgraded to an extratropical cyclone within 24 hours.
The typhoon is bringing pounding rains and strong winds, especially drenching the eastern regions.
A typhoon alert has been issued for the southern resort island of Jeju, Gyeongsang Province, and parts of Gangwon and the central provinces. A typhoon advisory was in effect for the rest of the country as of 8 a.m.
SOURCE: The Korea Herald