Strong winds and hard rain pounded southern South Korea yesterday, as the second storm in a week, Typhoon Tembin, barreled down on the Korean Peninsula only days after 20 people died or went missing in the South in the first storm, Typhoon Bolaven.
North Korea was also in Typhoon Tembin’s path, raising new worries about a country that is still rebuilding from devastating floods in late June that have left thousands living in tents with limited facilities.
Casualties in the North from Bolaven have yet to be reported, but the storm knocked out power, submerged roads and houses, and ruined farmland, North Korean state media said.
Photo: EPA
The new storm was also hampering the search for seven missing fishermen who were on two Chinese ships that hit rocks off a southern South Korean island during the first typhoon. Eight of those fishermen were among the 13 people killed in South Korea. The coast guard rescued 12 men from the ships on Tuesday and six others swam or were washed ashore.
Yesterday, the coast guard said it could not send ships to search for the missing fishermen because of high waves from Typhoon Tembin, though officers searched the shorelines.
Tembin was expected to weaken as it reaches North Korea. Yet heavy rain can be catastrophic in the North because of poor drainage, deforestation and decrepit infrastructure. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said some areas of Hwanghae and Kangwon Provinces could receive up to 70mm of rain yesterday and today.
South Korea issued a typhoon warning in many southern areas because of Tembin’s strong winds and heavy rain, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. Tembin is weaker than the first typhoon, but more than 170 flights were canceled yesterday, the agency said.
In North Korea, Bolaven shattered rooftops and pulled trees up by the roots, breaking branches and trunks alike. High waves pounded boats floating near a seawall. The storm also ripped off a power station’s roof, submerged or destroyed houses, triggered landslides that buried railroads, cut power lines and damaged more than 8,500 hectares of maize fields, hurting the chances of a successful harvest, according to KCNA.
In South Korea, Bolaven temporarily left hundreds of thousands without power, canceled flights and damaged farmland. Nearly 100 families were left homeless.
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