Powerful typhoon Sanba pounds S Korea

17 Sep 2012, 8:25 pm   -   Source: AFP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
0

Typhoon Sanba has pummelled parts of South Korea, uprooting trees, shutting down flights and ferry services and unleashing torrential rains that left at least one person dead in a landslide.

Typhoon Sanba pummelled South Korea on Monday, uprooting trees, shutting down flights and ferry services and unleashing torrential rains that left at least one person dead in a landslide.
  
The third major typhoon to hit the Korean peninsula in two months, Sanba made landfall in the southern port of Yeosu shortly before midday (0300 GMT), packing winds of around 137 kilometres (85 miles) per hour.
  
Heavy rains across the country triggered landslides that killed a 53-year-old woman in the southeastern county of Seongju and injured two people in nearby Gyeongju city, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.    Moving at around 35 kilometres per hour, the typhoon had pounded the South Korean island of Jeju overnight Sunday, leaving 10,000 homes without power and damaging roads.
  
As it crossed southwestern Japan on Sunday, the typhoon had claimed one life and cut power to 100,000 households.
  
Severe storm alerts issued in southern regions earlier on Monday were expanded to whole of South Korea in the afternoon, with flood warnings in some coastal areas.
  
A Korea Meteorological Administration spokesman said the maximum wind speed had decreased to around 110 kilometres per hour by early evening as the typhoon moved further inland.
  
"It is expected to veer out to the sea tonight," he added,
  
President Lee Myung-Bak urged officials to mobilise "all possible resources" to limit the impact on farming communities and farm produce prices ahead of festivities for the national Chuseok holiday at the end of the month.
  
As the typhoon made landfall, powerful winds uprooted large trees, ripped away business hoardings and advertising billboards and knocked over traffic lights.
  
Numerous train services were suspended or delayed due to landslides and downed power lines cut electricity to some 130,000 homes in southern regions.
  
The typhoon's power was felt in the capital Seoul where strong winds and driving rain caused the cancellation of all first-round matches at the WTA Korea Open tennis tournament.
  
More than 260 flights, including 52 international services, were cancelled Monday, while all ferry services were suspended nationwide, the transport ministry said, adding 2,000 ships had been taken out of the storm's path.
  
Thousands of residents in areas deemed vulnerable have been taken to shelters or advised to evacuate while schools remained closed in many areas.
  
Major dams across the country discharged water to control their water levels and all national parks were declared off-limits as a precautionary measure.
  
Typhoons Bolaven and Tembin, which struck the peninsula in late August, left more than 20 people dead in the South, damaging farmland and hundreds of houses and causing power cuts that affected millions of homes.
  
North Korea's state media said Bolaven -- the strongest typhoon to hit the peninsula for almost a decade -- killed 59 people and left more than 26,000 people homeless.

South Korea , Typhoon

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.