A high wave caused by typhoon Khanun hits a seawall in Seogwipo on Jeju island, South Korea, on Aug 9, 2023. - Reuters
SEOUL (Bloomberg): Authorities in South Korea warned Typhoon Khanun is on track to deliver an "extremely powerful” impact amid forecasts it will barrel up the country and toward Seoul, the capital that’s home to about half the country’s population.
The nation hasn’t previously experienced a tropical cyclone that’s pierced right through the nation’s inland and crossed into North Korea, according to records that date back to 1951, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Wednesday (Aug 9).
Khanun is gaining momentum as it approaches South Korea’s southern coast and is expected to make landfall Thursday near the southern port city of Tongyeong with maximum speeds of 126km per hour (78 miles per hour), according to the administration.
The typhoon is forecast to be about 30km east of Seoul by late Thursday, before it travels further north toward Pyongyang by early Friday.
"Extremely powerful wind and torrential rain will be expected in all parts of the country,” Park Jung Min, a forecast analyst at the administration, told reporters.
"We want to emphasise the need for thorough preparation and precaution ahead of the typhoon.”
Toyota Motor Corp’s Kyushu unit halted production Wednesday at its Miyata plant in Japan’s southern Fukuoka prefecture, while Nissan Motor Co said two operations in Kyushu were being temporarily stopped. Steelmaker Posco Holdings Inc and state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. are among major companies in South Korea already taking precautions for the storm’s arrival.
Khanun has already caused power outages in Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture and closed financial markets and schools in Taipei as it churned across the region last week.
By mid-afternoon Wednesday, more than 260 flights had been cancelled at major airports in South Korea. Public transport is likely to be suspended if the storm causes severe rain and wind, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.
President Yoon Suk-yeol said in an emergency meeting Tuesday that the government should make all-out efforts to minimise potential casualties. Yoon is on 24-hour emergency duty from Wednesday, Yonhap News reported, citing an unidentified official from the presidential office.
South Korea is bracing for Khanun less than a year after Super Typhoon Hinnamnor, which killed more than 10 people and disrupted both power supplies and major industry.
Japan Airlines Co. cancelled more than 252 flights on Wednesday and All Nippon Airways halted about 105 services, impacting about a total of 36,700 customers.
