Heavy rain eases, typhoon slides past Jeju

Rain eased off in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday as the monsoon tapered off southward. But the Korea Meteorological Administration said more rain is in the forecast for southern coastal areas and Jeju Island until later this week. 

The weather agency lifted a typhoon advisory in Jeju on Tuesday morning, with typhoon Nanmadol, the third typhoon of the year, turning northward toward Japan. The KMA issued a heavy rain advisory in Ulsan and parts of South Gyeongsang Province as of Tuesday 5 p.m., but lifted all heavy rain alerts in South Jeolla Province.

Monday and Tuesday’s downpour brought 229 millimeters of rain to Yeongdo-gu and 152 mm to Gangseo-gu in Busan.

Meteorologists predict at least 50-90 mm of rain per hour will pour down in parts of South Gyeongsang Province until later this week.

Accidents and damage also continued to occur due to the heavy rains. 

A 62-year-old man in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, died after being hit by a car on Monday at 9 p.m. The driver reportedly told police that he did not see the person in front of his car due to the rain.

A bus in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, skidded in the rain and hit a telephone pole on the road. The accident wounded four passengers who were on the bus. 

Part of a 3-by-15 meter wall surrounding a house in Busan collapsed early Tuesday morning, but caused no casualties. 

Meanwhile, authorities said water levels at dams by the Bukhan River water system increased by 1 to 4 meters, due to an average of 613 mm of rain that poured down from midnight Saturday to Monday 3 p.m. in Gangwon Province.

Hongcheon in Gangwon Province saw 200 mm of rain fall between midnight Monday to Tuesday 4 a.m. Hongseong County in South Chungcheong Province and Goesan County in North Chungcheong Province saw over 150 mm of rain, respectively, overnight. 

At least 30-80 mm of rain is forecast for parts of Chungcheong Province until Wednesday. 

Temperatures went up slightly nationwide, with Tuesday’s daytime high in Seoul and Daejeon at 28 degrees Celsius and 29 C in Busan.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a heat wave advisory was issued for Seoul, Daegu, Jeju Island and parts of Gyeonggi and North Gyeongsang provinces.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)