| News: Typhoon drops heavy rain in south |
Typhoon Megi headed onto the Korean Peninsula yesterday, lashing southern areas with heavy rain amid warnings by weather authorities of possible heavy damage from a storm that has already killed at least four people in Japan.
On Jeju Island, 22 residential buildings were flooded and people living there took refuge in the city's welfare facilities. A number of airline flights to Jeju were canceled because of the heavy rain.
In South Jeolla Province, more than 15 hectares of farmland and six residential buildings were flooded in Jangheung and the stone embankment of an apartment building under construction collapsed in Gwangju.
Busan port authorities ordered ships sheltering in the harbor to take precautions because of high waves and dozens of flights between the capital Seoul and southern cities were canceled. Altogether 21,000 vessels were ordered to drop anchor and secure their moorings at various ports along the southern coast and Jeju Island.
Typhoon Megi lashed southern areas with heavy rain, flooding residential buildings and farmland.
The heavy rain flooded streets in many southern areas, stranding cars and other vehicles. In Gyeonggi Province, sluice gates at the Paldang Dam were opened to prevent flooding.
Authorities in Korea had no reports of casualties but officials in southern Japan said four people were killed and two missing after heavy rain as Megi, packing winds of up to 126 kilometers per hour, approached the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.
Megi, the 15th typhoon this year to hit the Korean peninsula, poured 257 millimeters of rain on Hwasun and 304 mm on Wando, both in South Jeolla Province.
Seongpanak and Eorimok in Jeju Island reported 155 mm and 177.5 mm of rain, respectively. Yeongdong in Gangwon Province got about 400 mm.
The Korea Meteorological Administration sent out heavy torrential rain warnings to Jeju Island as well as North and South Gyeongsang provinces, North and South Jeolla provinces, Gangwon Province and the East Sea.
"The temperature of the southern coast is about 29-30 degrees Celsius so the typhoon will not disappear quickly because of the hot temperatures at sea," the KMA said.
"The local provinces must prepare for any emergencies. They have to watch old buildings, embankments and drainpipes for damage," it added.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held urgent discussions on how to prevent any serious damages by Megi.
"Though regular typhoons become weak as they move northward, Megi is influenced by recent hot temperatures and will be rather strong," said National Emergency Management Agency official Bang Ki-sung.
Tourists in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, and Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, were told not to hike up into the mountains.
Jeju Island ordered about 1,350 city officials to stand by at construction sites and other accident-prone areas. South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla Provinces also organized emergency task forces.
The KMA expected the typhoon to change course tomorrow and head away from the peninsula.
(younhee@heraldm.com)
By O Youn-hee
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