김나영
| 2023-08-10 23:19:54
(5th LD) typhoon-landfall
(5th LD) Typhoon Khanun leaves 1 dead, 1 missing while heading north slowly
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with latest details)
SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- One person died and another went missing in the southeastern city of Daegu on Thursday amid heavy rainfall and strong winds brought by Typhoon Khanun, authorities said, as it also caused flooding, landslides and extensive facility damage across the nation following its landing on the southeastern coast in the morning.
Khanun, which landed on the southeastern coast near Geoje at 9:20 a.m., cut through the inland regions longitudinally and had been passing 30 kilometers east-northeast of Seoul as of 10 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
A 67-year-old man died after being found unconscious by a flooded river in Daegu around 1 p.m., while another man in a wheelchair reportedly went missing after falling into another flooded stream in the same city at 1:45 p.m. In the southeastern provinces of Gyeongsang, about 20 people were rescued after being trapped in flooded roads, cars, houses and riverside trails. In the central county of Buyeo, a woman in her 30s was taken to a hospital after being struck by a falling tree on a road Thursday morning.
The typhoon also forced the cancellations of 355 flights at 14 airports, 161 KTX high-speed trains and 251 regular trains, and the closures of 490 roads, 166 coastal areas, 178 sea routes and 21 national parks nationwide.
A total of 1,579 kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools suspended or curtailed classes, or shifted to online classes due to the typhoon, while 10,641 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters as of 11 a.m., according to government figures.
As of 10 p.m., the typhoon had been heading west-northwest at a speed of 21 kilometers per hour at a location 30 km east-northeast of Seoul, the KMA said, noting its central pressure is 990 hectopascals, with a maximum wind speed of 72 kph, or 20 meters per second.
The typhoon greatly weakened soon after its landfall and is expected to cross the inter-Korean border around midnight, the KMA said.
It is expected to weaken to tropical depression around 9 a.m. Friday at 30 kilometers south of Pyongyang.
But the KMA said the central region will be under the influence of the typhoon until Friday morning, and heavy rain is forecast for the capital area and the eastern Gangwon Province.
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.
Khanun will likely become the typhoon that has stayed over South Korea the longest, at about 15 hours.
All regions, except the southern resort island of Jeju, had been put under a typhoon warning or advisory, but the KMA had lifted the alerts in the southern regions as of 10 p.m.
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 hit 34.9 mps in the southern city of Busan in the morning and is expected to reach 15 to 25 mps in the Seoul metropolitan area and 20 to 40 mps elsewhere, the KMA said.
As of Thursday afternoon, 80 mm of rain was falling in northeastern coastal areas per hour and 10 to 30 mm in the central regions, while strong winds with a maximum instantaneous speed of around 30 mps was blowing throughout the central regions, the KMA said.
As of 3 p.m., the southeastern city of Yangsan had received 382.5 mm, followed by 322.4 mm in Gangneung, 315.7 mm in Sokcho, 302 mm in Chilgok and 296 mm in Gimcheon, the agency said.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, a total of 159 facilities suffered damage and 14,153 people had evacuated as of 6 p.m.
More than 40,350 households nationwide suffered electricity blackouts, and power has been restored in 94.2 percent of the households.
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