Super Typhoon Leaves Several Dead as It Passes South Korea

Heesu Lee and Heejin Kim
Tue, September 6, 2022 




(Bloomberg) -- Super Typhoon Hinnamnor left at least two people dead and created widespread flooding and power outages as it passed through South Korea, though the destruction appeared to be less than had been forecast.

Hinnamnor hit near the southern city of Geoje at 4:50 a.m. local time and moved off the coast near Ulsan just a few hours later, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Projections from the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center show the typhoon moving through Korea’s eastern sea, and potentially making landfall again in eastern Russia.

At least two people in South Korea were reported killed while at least eight are missing, according to Yonhap. Earlier, the meteorological agency had warned of potential casualties from what was expected to be the most powerful storm ever to hit the country.

Hinnamnor showed signs of weakening Tuesday afternoon, packing sustained winds of about 86 miles (138 kilometers) per hour with gusts around 104 mph, according to the US warning center. But the impact of the massive storm continued to be felt across South Korea and even parts of Japan.

About 3,500 people were evacuated along South Korea’s southern coast, while more than 66,000 homes nationwide suffered power outages, Yonhap reported. However, Korea Electric Power Corp. has restored electricity to more than 18,000 homes in Jeju, the newspaper said.

Kyushu Electric Power Co., the utility provider for Japan’s southwestern prefectures in Kyushu, said that over 30,000 buildings in the region are without power due to the typhoon, while telecommunications providers KDDI Corp. and NTT Docomo said service has been disrupted in some parts of the country.

Still, bsinesses in South Korea began to return to normal soon after the storm passed. Hyundai Motor Co.’s union said the company was set to resume work before noon while Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. planned to restart in the afternoon. No casualties or damage were reported at the facilities of the automaker and two shipbuilders.

Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. restarted flights to Jeju Island in the morning, while flights to Busan were scheduled to resume in the afternoon.

Six nuclear reactors on the southeast coast had been running at lower rates ahead of the typhoon. They will operate at a reduced rate for now until the situation returns to normal, according to a spokeswoman at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.

Oil refiners, chemical operations and the nation’s oldest nuclear power plant had earlier taken precautions amid predictions the typhoon would hammer the resort island of Jeju and the key industrial city of Ulsan on the country’s southeast coast, disrupting ports and air traffic across the region.

The nation suffered the second major storm in a matter of weeks after Seoul was hit by the heaviest rains in a century in early August, killing at least 11 people. President Yoon Suk Yeol faced criticism for his response to the floods and apologized to the nation for “inconveniences” caused by the storm.

Yoon, who earlier promised the government would stay alert to protect the lives and safety of citizens, said Tuesday that while Typhoon Hinnamnor has made its way out to sea, it’s too early to express relief because areas with damage still need to be rescued.

Hinnamnor already disrupted port operations, airline services and schools across Asia since developing last month. Shanghai’s major container port of Yangshan briefly halted terminal operations. Some schools in both South Korea and China were closed for safety reasons.

(Updates with death toll in the first paragraph)

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