PM stresses swift evacuation of residents as Typhoon Khanun makes landfall
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, right, speaks during an emergency government response meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Aug. 10. Yonhap
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called for comprehensive disaster prevention measures and swift evacuations of residents Thursday, as a powerful typhoon made landfall on the country's southeastern coast.
Nearly 10,000 people have previously been evacuated as Typhoon Khanun landed on the coast near the southeastern city of Geoje at around 9:20 a.m. It is expected to move north toward the central inland regions and the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, dumping heavy rain and causing strong winds.
"Each local government must once again verify whether residents in high-risk areas have failed to evacuate and make sure that they are evacuated," Han said during an emergency government response meeting.
He further directed authorities to review executing forcible evacuation orders as dictated by relevant disaster safety protocols, when needed.
Han also issued instructions to curtail outdoor activities for participants of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, who were earlier relocated to safer inland areas. About 37,000 teenage Scouts and adult volunteers from 156 countries evacuated to eight different regions from the Saemangeum venue.
The typhoon, currently with a central pressure of 970 hectopascals and maximum wind speeds of up to 35 meters per second, is forecast to cross the inter-Korean border shortly after midnight before reaching 120 km southwest of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, around 3 a.m. Friday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
The expected path of Khanun is unprecedented, as it is to become the first to pass through the Korean Peninsula longitudinally since recordkeeping began in 1951, the agency said. The storm's strength is expected to diminish when it moves on to North Korea early Friday, but forecasters said the greater Seoul area would still feel its force until Friday afternoon. (Yonhap)