Typhoon Kompasu slammed into South Korea yesterday, killing three people in what was called the strongest tropical storm to hit the Seoul area in 15 years.
Powerful gusts knocked over trees, power lines and streetlights, cutting off power to tens of thousands of homes and forcing airports to cancel or delay dozens of international flights, the National Emergency Management Agency said.
More than 60 international flights were delayed or canceled, mostly to and from China, officials at Incheon and Gimpo airports said. Service on two Seoul subway lines and five railway routes was suspended, officials said.
An 80-year-old man died after being hit by a roof tile and a 37-year-old businessman was killed on his way to work by a falling tree branch, the emergency management agency said. A 75-year-old man was electrocuted while examining a transformer, and four people were injured by broken glass, it said.
Elementary and middle schools in Seoul were ordered to delay the start of the school day by two hours, while all public and private kindergartens were closed for the day, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said.
The storm caused at least 10 billion won (US$8.3 million) in damage to a soccer stadium in Incheon, west of Seoul, stadium officials said.
Power was out at more than 60,000 homes along South Korea’s west coast, officials said.
Kompasu, the Japanese word for “compass,” landed on Ganghwa Island, 70km west of Seoul, early yesterday morning, officials said.
The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a typhoon alert for Gangwon Province in the east, saying Kompasu was traveling northeast of Seoul and into North Korea.
Meanwhile, a tropical storm hit China’s east coast yesterday, bringing heavy rains and disrupting shipping along the busy coast.
Tropical Storm Lionrock landed in Fujian, Xinhua news agency said.
China’s national weather forecaster warned residents to shelter from strong winds and torrential rains as Lionrock bore down on Xiamen, Quanzhou and other coastal cities.
Ships and fishing boats in the area were ordered to stay onshore or skirt around the storm, which hit Taiwan on Wednesday bringing downpours and lashing winds.
Shanghai canceled elementary-school classes as Typhoon Kompasu approached. The storm drenched the city and then turned its attention to South Korea.
The Seoul stock market was not disrupted.
A Chinese fishing boat sank off South Korea after colliding with a South Korean vessel, the China News Service reported, citing the Chinese embassy in Seoul.
Kompasu was whipping up winds of up to 139kph, but was likely to weaken to a tropical storm by today, forecaster Tropical Storm Risk said. Lionrock was likely to weaken to a tropical depression, the forecaster said.
In related news, rescuers were searching for 44 people missing yesterday after a landslide hit a village in southern China and killed at least four people.
Workers rescued 23 people buried under rubble in Wama village in Yunnan Province after the rain-triggered landslide hit Wednesday night, Xinhua reported.
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