4 killed, 2 missing as Typhoon Mitag makes landfall in South Korea

A road in the eastern city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, is flooded on Oct. 3, 2019, as Typhoon Mitag struck the region. (Yonhap)

Seoul: Four people were killed and two others went missing as Typhoon Mitag lashed the southern and eastern regions of South Korea with heavy rain and strong winds, the authorities said Thursday.

The season’s 18th typhoon landed on the coast of the small southwestern fishing county of Haenam on Wednesday night and made its way toward the East Sea early Thursday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The mid-strength typhoon, the seventh to affect the Korean Peninsula this year, brought heavy rain and high winds to the southern regions even before making landfall. Several regions experienced record high levels of precipitation.

In Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, precipitation reached 104.5 millimeters per hour, the highest since the authorities began compiling the data in 1971. The city of Donghae, Gangwon Province, saw 67.4 mm of rain per hour, marking the highest figure since 1992, according to the KMA.

“Though the typhoon receded into the East Sea, strong rain is expected to continue until later in the day in the eastern coastal regions in Gangwon Province, as well as the islets of Dokdo and the island of Ulleung,” the KMA said.

Early on Thursday, a woman in her 70s died after being swept away by strong currents in the southeastern city of Pohang.

In Samcheok, Gangwon Province, heavy precipitation caused a landslide, which brought down a wall of a house, killing a woman sleeping inside. A similar accident took place in the southeastern county of Yeongdeok, killing one, according to the disaster authorities.

On Wednesday, a 76-year-old man was killed after he was swept away by strong currents in a farming village in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

Two people also went missing amid heavy rains, and several others suffered injuries, the authorities said, adding that more than 1,500 people on the southern island of Jeju and other southeastern regions were evacuated to emergency shelters.

A sightseeing train in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, derailed due to a landslide and more than a dozen sections of streets were closed because of heavy rain.

Flights returned to normal operations as of 6 a.m., but 100 sea routes are still closed, according to the authorities.

YONHAP