Heavy rainstorms are forecast across the country this weekend as another major typhoon headed toward the Korean Peninsula, weather officials said Saturday.

Typhoon Sanba, positioned about 470 kilometers south-southeast of Okinawa, Japan, was traveling north-northwestward at a speed of about 18 kilometers per hour as of 9 a.m. Saturday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The typhoon, packing winds of up to 50 meters per second, is expected to reach about 60 kilometers east-southeast of Seogwipo, Jeju Island, by around 9 a.m. Monday, the KMA said. It will then likely land on South Jeolla Province in the southwestern region and pass through the country heading east, it said.

Weather officials warned that Sanba could be one of the strongest typhoons to ever hit South Korea, almost as devastating as Typhoon Maemi in 2003, which left 132 people dead and caused massive property damages.

Sanba is the third typhoon to approach South Korea in the past month, following Bolaven and Tembin.

Sanba is expected to bring heavy rains nationwide starting Sunday, first on Jeju Island and then to all parts of the nation by late night, weather officials said.

The nation's southern areas, including Jeju, could have more than 50 millimeters of rain per hour from early Sunday, they added.
The weather agency issued a watch for heavy rains to take effect at midnight on Sunday in Jeju, saying that a special typhoon alert is likely to be issued for the rest of the country by Monday.

As a precautionary measure, Jeju's education office ordered all kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools on the island to close on Monday. (Yonhap)