Bolavan cuts big swath of devastation

By Na Jeong-ju

Typhoon Bolaven, one of the most powerful to hit the peninsula, mostly affected Jeju Island and the West Coast, Tueaday, leaving at least three people dead ― though fatalities are expected to rise ― with some 200,000 households still cut off from power.

An 89-year-old lady, identified by her surname Im, was killed when a tile flying from a nearby church in Gwangju hit her on the head a little past midnight.

A woman surnamed Chung lost her balance in the strong winds and fell to her death from a roof in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, at 11 a.m., while a janitor at Wanju, North Cheolla Province, was crushed to death, when a gust caused a steel container to topple onto him.

Earlier in the day, four Chinese fishermen were killed and 12 others listed as missing in waters off Jeju’s southern port of Hwasun, when their boats were battered by large waves and sank.

One boat capsized in the strong winds and high seas, and another sank after hitting rocks in waters some 1.8 kilometers off the port around 2:40 a.m., the Coast Guard said.

“The boats had 33 crew members. Seventeen people were rescued, but one of them was severely injured,” an officer said. “The bodies of the four dead fishermen have been recovered.”

The officer said a rescue team was searching for the missing, but bad weather was hampering the operation.

Typhoon Bolaven, the strongest to hit Korea in a decade, caused power cuts to more than 430,000 households nationwide and severe property damage before it moved on to North Korea.

Downgraded to a tropical storm, Bolaven is expected to dissipate after passing over the North’s eastern coast and northeastern regions of China.

Winds measuring up to 50 meters per second destroyed a number of houses and cars, brought down trees and blew out windows in some areas, the National Emergency Management Agency said. Up to 500 millimeters of torrential rain fell on Jeju Island, and most areas in the western part of the country saw more than 100 millimeters.

Some 14,000 schools around the country, including all elementary and secondary schools in Seoul, were closed Tuesday. All domestic flights from Jeju International Airport and Seoul’s Gimpo Airport were canceled.

Incheon International Airport, the gateway to Seoul, suspended 24 international flights as police blocked main roads to the airport due to strong winds.

All national parks on mountains were also closed to the public for the day.

The strength of the typhoon weakened as its center moved closer to the capital city, but it also saw a number of accidents.

A resident of Seongdong, Seoul, was taken to hospital after being hit in the head by a signboard, which fell from a building.

The operation of Subway Line No. 1 between Namyeong and Guro stations was suspended for about half an hour after an object blown by wind fell on to the tracks.

Officials said the country was able to minimize damage because authorities and people, mindful of the disaster caused by Typhoon Rusa in 2002, which killed more than 200, had taken precautions.