▲ A road is flooded in the southeastern city of Changwon on Aug. 10, 2023, after heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Khanun. (Yonhap)
▲ People struggle to walk through strong winds on a road in the southern city of Busan on Aug. 10, 2023, as the powerful Typhoon Khanun made landfall on the southeastern coast. (Yonhap)
▲ Traffic is blocked on a road in the southeastern city of Ulsan on Aug. 10, 2023, after a 3-meter-wide and 4-meter-long rock fell from a nearby mountain due to the impact of the approaching Typhoon Khanun. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) typhoon-landfall

(2nd LD) Typhoon Khanun to reach Seoul's vicinity around 9 p.m.

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SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- Typhoon Khanun, accompanied by heavy rainfall and strong winds, is forecast to reach near Seoul Thursday night after making landfall on the southeastern coast near Geoje in the morning, the state weather agency said.

Khanun may reach 40 kilometers east-southeast of Seoul around 9 p.m. after landing on the southeastern coast near Geoje at 9:20 a.m. and then cutting through the inland regions longitudinally for over 12 hours, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The powerful typhoon, moving at the unusually slow speed of 25 kilometers per hour, was on a course to pass 50 km west-southwest of the southeastern city of Daegu around noon and 20 km north-northeast of the central city of Cheongju around 6 p.m. before crossing the inter-Korean border shortly after midnight, the KMA said.

The typhoon is expected to change its direction from north to north-northwest in the afternoon, lowering its movement speed to around 20 kph, the agency said, adding the speed will then fluctuate between 19 and 33 kph until midnight.

The expected path of Khanun is unprecedented as it is to become the first to pass through the Korean Peninsula from south to north since recordkeeping began in 1951.

The intensity of the typhoon with a central pressure of 975 hectopascals and the maximum wind speed of up to 32 meters per second slightly weakened shortly after its landfall.

If Khanun proceeds as predicted, the typhoon is estimated to stay over South Korea for about 15 hours, further increasing the precipitation and relevant damage, the agency said.

All regions across South Korea have been put under a typhoon warning or advisory, as the KMA forecast downpours of up to 500 millimeters in northeastern coastal areas and 100 mm to 200 mm in the capital, central and western coastal areas until early Friday morning.

The maximum wind speed is expected to reach 15 to 25 mps in the Seoul metropolitan area and 20 to 40 mps elsewhere, the KMA said.

As of late Thursday morning, 30 to 60 mm of rain was falling in southeastern coastal areas and 10 to 30 mm in eastern coastal areas, while strong winds with a maximum instantaneous speed of around 30 mps was blowing on the southern resort island of Jeju and southern and eastern coast.

The typhoon has already forced massive cancellations of flights and trains, and the closure of schools, sea routes and roads across the country while authorities are flooded with reports of property damage, including landslides, inundation of houses and farmland.

About 450 flights were grounded across the country and about 10,000 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters nationwide, as Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called for comprehensive disaster prevention measures and swift evacuations of residents in a government meeting Thursday.

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