Typhoon Mitag to hit Korea on Thursday

Typhoon Mitag is expected to hit the Korean Peninsula Thursday, bringing up to 600 millimeters of heavy rain in the mountainous interior of Jeju Island from today. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Typhoon Mitag is expected to hit the Korean Peninsula Thursday, bringing up to 600 millimeters of heavy rain to central regions of Jeju Island from today.

According to the Korean Meteorological Administration, Monday, the typhoon, which formed in the Philippine Sea on Saturday, is traveling from 410 kilometers south-southeast of Taipei as of 9 a.m. at 16 km/h with wind speeds of up to 32 meters per second.

The KMA forecast the typhoon will move toward the peninsula after passing Taiwan and mainland China, and hit Mokpo in South Jeolla Province at around 9 a.m. on Thursday and pass through the southern provinces to the East Sea.

The Jeju branch of the weather agency said the island could come under the typhoon's influence as early as today with heavy rain of 30 mm to 50 mm per hour. The agency said flights to and from Jeju could be delayed or canceled due to strong wind and heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday.

The typhoon is expected to have wind speeds of up to 126 kilometers per hour when it hits Korea, threatening damage to small structures, according to the weather agency.

“We are closely watching the path, as Mitag could become slower and weaken after passing by Taiwan or China,” a KMA official said.

If Mitag lands on the Korean Peninsula, it will be the seventh typhoon to hit the country this year, equaling the record set in 1959. The nation started observing typhoons in 1951.