Typhoon Maysak leaves 2 dead; possibly stronger storm on its way

Typhoon Maysak swept across South Korea, leaving two people dead and three others injured, causing power outages, disrupting transportation and damaging homes and farmland, authorities said Thursday. The weather agency warns of another typhoon, possibly even more powerful than Mayak, to strike the country early next week.

Casualties and damages from Maysak, the ninth typhoon of this season, were mainly in the southern part of the country, where it came ashore early Thursday morning with top winds of 45 meters per second, the fourth strongest in history, before weakening to a tropical depression at around noon in the East Sea.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, a woman in her 60s died of severe bleeding from glass shards after strong guests shattered the windows of her apartment unit in Busan. Another, a man in 50s, also suffered cuts from broken windows at his apartment unit also in the southeastern port city.

Some 22 people from 17 households saw their homes destroyed by the typhoon, while some 2,280 people from 1,505 households had to temporarily evacuate from their homes in a precautionary measure.

Over 120,000 households, many in Jeju, Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, suffered power outages.

Four nuclear reactors stopped running temporarily, which officials said was likely due to an external power issue.

40 trains on six routes were suspended from operation. Close to 100 highways in Busan, Daegu and South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces were restricted from entry.

Across the country, over 850 counts of property damage were reported, with 563 of them concerning private property.

The Korea Metrological Administration forecast the nation to come under the influence of Typhoon Haishen from Sunday. It is expected to making landfall on the southern coast Monday and reach just 80 kilometers east of Seoul around 3 p.m. that day.

The KMA expects it to grow even more powerful than Maysak, reaching a maximum wind speed of 53 meters per second and an atmospheric pressure of 920 hectopascals at its center during its peak, although there is a possibility that it weakens while moving through the peninsula.

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, Haishen was about 1,000 kilometers northwest of Guam, traveling at a speed of 16 kilometers per hour toward the peninsula. The “strong” typhoon had a maximum wind speed of 35 meters per second and an atmospheric pressure of 970 hectopascals at its center.

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)