Typhoon Francisco, the season’s eighth typhoon, will hit Korea from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, with heavy rains expected across the country, the weather agency said Monday.
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Ships are docked at Pier 5 at Busan Port in preparation for the arrival of Typhoon Francisco, which is expected to land on the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday night. (Yonhap) |
The typhoon was moving northwest at a speed of 24 kilometers per hour from about 390 km east of Kagoshima, Japan, as of 3 p.m. Monday. It is expected to land on the country’s south coast between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Francisco is expected to reach 80 kilometers northwest of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, at about 3 a.m. Wednesday morning and exit the peninsula toward the East Sea that night, according to the weather agency.
Rain is expected along the coast in South Gyeongsang Province and on Jeju Island from Tuesday noon. Rain is forecast for all parts of the country, except Jeju, starting Wednesday midnight.
Coastal areas in South Gyeongsang Province and Gangwon Province are expected to see more than 200 millimeters of rain. The rest of Gyeongsang province and North Chungcheong Province are expected to receive between 50 to 150 millimeters of rain.
Up to 60 millimeters of rain is expected in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, South Chungcheong Province and Jeolla Province.
Francisco was classified as “small” with a central pressure of 985 hectopascals. The maximum sustained wind speed near its center was 27 meters per second. Its power may be weakened by relatively low water temperatures in the ocean and friction from land areas in Japan and South Korea.
The seasons’ ninth typhoon, Lekima, is also traveling at a speed of 34 kilometers per hour from 860 kilometers south-southeast of Okinawa, Japan. It is expected to move to the western part of Okinawa on Friday. For now, it is likely to veer to Japan or Taiwan, according to the KMA.
A scorching heat wave began to grip South Korea last week as the monsoon season ended, with daytime high temperatures of around 29 C to 37 C. Heat wave advisories or warnings were issued in most parts of the country Monday.
By Ock Hyun-ju (
laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
