Typhoon Khanun made landfall on South Korea's southeastern coast Thursday morning and is moving north toward the central inland regions and the Seoul metropolitan area, dumping heavy rain and causing strong winds nationwide, the state weather agency said.
The powerful typhoon, moving at the unusually slow speed of 22 kilometers per hour, arrived at the coast near the southeastern city of Geoje at around 9:20 a.m. and is expected to reach 50 km southwest of the southeastern city of Daegu around noon, 20 km northwest of the central city of Cheongju around 6 p.m. and 40 km southeast of Seoul around 9 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
The typhoon, currently with a central pressure of 970 hectopascals and maximum wind speeds of up to 35 meters per second, is then forecast to cross the inter-Korean border shortly after midnight before reaching 120 km southwest of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, around 3 a.m. Friday, the KMA noted.
The expected path of Khanun is unprecedented as it is to become the first to pass through the Korean Peninsula longitudinally since recordkeeping began in 1951, the agency said.
If Khanun proceeds as predicted, the typhoon is estimated to take about 15 hours to vertically cross South Korea, further increasing the precipitation and relevant damage, it said.
All regions across South Korea have been put under a typhoon warning or advisory, as the KMA forecast downpours of up to 500 mm in northeastern coastal areas and 100 mm to 200 mm in the capital, central and western coastal areas until early Friday morning.
The maximum wind speed is expected to reach 15 to 25 mps in the Seoul metropolitan area and 20 to 40 mps elsewhere, the KMA said.
The typhoon has already forced massive cancellations of flights and trains, and the closure of schools, sea routes and roads across the country while authorities are flooded with reports of property damage.
Source: Yonhap News Agency