SOUTH KOREA: South Korean authorities evacuated over 10,000 people and shut down schools in flood-affected areas as tropical storm Khanun stormed over the peninsula on Thursday, having battered southern Japan over the past week.
Khanun, which had been downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm, had reached the southeast coast and was headed in the direction of Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Khanun could also impact North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang. State media in North Korea stated that preparations are underway within the military and ruling party to counter floods and protect crops.
Around 350 flights and 410 train routes had to be cancelled in South Korea, while over 10,000 individuals were evacuated for safety, according to the interior ministry. There were no reported casualties.
The storm brought heavy rainfall of up to 60 mm (2.36 inches) per hour to towns along the east coast and reached maximum wind speeds of 126 km/h (78 mph) in Busan, a southeastern port city.
As of 16:30 p.m. (0730 GMT), Typhoon Khanun was progressing through South Korea’s central North Chungcheong province, moving at 31 kph (19 mph) towards the greater Seoul area.
The majority of schools were closed for the summer break, but the education ministry said that 1,600 of the 1,520 summer schools either closed or moved to remote learning as a result of the storm. Floods and landslides affected a few schools in Gangwon, a province along the east coast.
The storm worsened the already difficult situation for 37,000 young participants at the troubled World Scout Jamboree. After enduring a heatwave the previous week, they were relocated to safer accommodations on Tuesday due to the approaching storm’s threat to their campsite.
The nation is still in the process of recovering from heavy monsoon rains last month, which resulted in over 40 casualties, including 14 individuals in a flooded tunnel.
Heavy rainfall, fueled by moist air from the storm, continues to pummel parts of western Japan, resulting in some areas receiving well above the usual August precipitation over the past week. A town had already documented 985 mm (38.78 inches) of rainfall by Thursday morning.
In the meantime, Typhoon Lan is drawing closer to the Ogasawara Islands, situated approximately 1,000 km (621 miles) south of Tokyo. Although the storm’s trajectory remains uncertain, the Japan Meteorological Agency has cautioned that it might impact the Tokyo region by the weekend’s conclusion.
Amidst Japan’s main summer holiday, Obon, when numerous individuals depart urban centres to revisit their hometowns, inclement weather is hitting hard.
Typhoon Khanun has brought substantial rainfall to the southern areas of Japan as it continued to move towards South Korea, where it might make landfall on Thursday.
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