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Typhoon Khanun forecast to hit Korea on Thursday
Engineers test wave barriers set up along the coast at Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday, as Typhoon Khanun is predicted to reach the country two days later. Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
Government elevates crisis alert level to its highest
By Ko Dong-hwan
Typhoon Khanun has changed course. It is now heading toward the country's southern coast, a change from a forecast a few days ago that the northbound typhoon would hit southwestern Japan and pass over the sea between the two countries.
The latest forecast led to the early evacuation of tens of thousands of participants from the World Scout Jamboree venue on the reclaimed tidal flats of Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province. Most of the 37,000 evacuated Scouts are being relocated to Seoul and its surrounding areas.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said Tuesday Khanun's eye and core impact zone will scathe the west coast of Japan's Kyushu later the day and, keeping its northbound path, reach the middle of the southern coast of Korea on Thursday morning. The typhoon has been forecast to carry “strong” winds of 119 to 158 kilometers per hour once reaching the western waters of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.
Khanun will then lash the country and push north without changing course, reaching Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, on Thursday night and North Korea's Pyongyang the next morning, the KMA added. Throughout the on-land sweep, the entirety of South Korea and most parts of North Korea are expected to be under the typhoon's influence.
The latest projected course of Khanun runs closer to Seoul than what was expected the previous day when it was forecast to travel farther east from the country's capital. As a result, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters raised the crisis alert status to the highest level of “serious” from “alert” later in the day.
The KMA said they will start issuing typhoon warnings nationwide, starting with Jeju Island on Wednesday afternoon. The warnings will subsequently be issued to the mainland's southern coastal regions on Wednesday night, the central regions on Thursday morning and the capital region of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province on Thursday afternoon.
This image from the Korean Meteorological Administration released on Tuesday shows Typhoon Khanun's expected path. Courtesy of Korean Meteorological Administration
As of Tuesday morning, the typhoon reached some 300 kilometers south of Kagoshima Prefecture, carrying 970 hectopascals and a maximum wind velocity of 126 kilometers per hour.
Under Khanun, the entire country will see showers and strong winds from Wednesday to Friday. Throughout the period, the largest accumulation will drop on the eastern coast of Gangwon Province with 600 millimeters or more.
Mount Jiri in southern Korea and the mountainous regions on Jeju Island will see downpours amounting to 400 millimeters or more. The east coastal regions in North Gyeongsang Province and South Gyeongsang Province and the mountains in North Gyeongsang Province will see at least 300 millimeters. The other regions will see from 80 to 200 millimeters.
Khanun, meanwhile, has prompted North Korea's reigning Workers' Party of Korea to urge locals to prepare for its impact, according to the party's daily newspaper issued on Tuesday. The media said the state “cannot afford to delay its economic agendas this year by the typhoon's possible devastation” and “every party official must do his best to minimize the impact.”