Korea braces for another powerful typhoon

Typhoon Chaba, the 18th this year, is moving northward at the speed of 22 kilometers per hour from 280 kilometers south of Okinawa as of Monday 9 a.m.

By Park Si-soo

A powerful typhoon with heavy rain and gusty winds is approaching the Korean Peninsula. Typhoon Chaba, the 18th this year, is moving northward at the speed of 22 kilometers per hour from 280 kilometers south of Okinawa as of Monday 9 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The typhoon is forecast to advance to 90 kilometers east of Jeju Island on Wednesday morning and move eastward to make landfall in Japan’s Tsushima Island. The southeastern tip of the peninsula will be on the typhoon’s western side, a KMA official said.

The typhoon is categorized as “middle” size and “strong” with maximum gusts of 50 meters a second, and an atmospheric pressure of 930 hectopascals (hPa).

The typhoon’s size and strength is easing, but it is expected to remain strong enough to cause damage when it passes close the peninsula, said the weather agency.

It warned people in the southern part of the country to brace for heavy rain and strong winds in the middle of this week.

The KMA plans to issue a typhoon “alert” off Jeju on Monday night and lift it to a typhoon “warning” on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Japan has recommended that more than 8,000 people evacuate from Kume Island.

Earlier, 11 people were confirmed dead in two landslides that followed the typhoon that hit southeastern China last week.

Chinese media said Saturday that eight people died in a Wednesday landslide in Sucun village in Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai. Another 19 people are missing.

Three people died in another landslide in Zhejiang province on Wednesday.