2023-08-10 03:18:02
BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — A strong tropical storm made landfall Thursday in South Korea, where thousands of people had been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Some parts of the country have already received more than 30 centimeters (one foot) of rain, and some streets were flooded.
Tropical Storm Khanun will lash the country with heavy rain and strong winds as it slowly moves across the Korean Peninsula. The vortex will touch the Seoul metropolitan area, where half of South Korea’s 51 million people live. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the storm will weaken as it moves toward North Korea early Friday, but the capital area will continue to feel its effects until Friday followingnoon. .
Khanun made landfall around 9:30 a.m. in the south-west of the country, near the port of Geoje, with maximum sustained winds of 129 km/h (80 mph), moving north at 25 km/h ( 15.5 mph). The KMA classified it as a typhoon, but the United States and Japan, among other countries, recorded Khanun with slightly weaker winds that fit the definition of a tropical storm.
In the coastal city of Busan, the country’s second-largest city, winds reached 126 km/h (78 mph) and emergency workers dressed in orange uniforms were removing trees that fell on streets and responding to reports of fallen fences and other damages.
The storm has dumped more than 30 centimeters (12 inches) of rain on the southern cities of Changwon and Yangsan since Wednesday.
In anticipation of Khanun’s arrival, more than 10,000 people, mostly in southern regions, were ordered to evacuate their homes by Thursday morning, according to the Ministry of Interior and Security.
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