This year’s strongest cyclonic storm, Typhoon Hinnamnor, hit South Korea, causing damage to cities on the southern coast. Fearing landslides and flooding, authorities evacuated some 3,500 people ahead of the storm, which made landfall in the island city of Geoje.
It then churned north at 54 km/h, kicking up waves and causing heavy rain and flooding. No casualties have been reported, but authorities say a 25-year-old man in Ulsan is still missing.
President Yoon Suk-yeol held emergency response meetings Monday as the country braced for Typhoon Hinnamnor, whose intensity was measured as the devastating Typhoon Maemi in 2003.
Trains were suspended, hundreds of flights across the country were cancelled, and businesses and schools closed early. North Korea has also braced for the storm, with leader Kim Jong Un holding a two-day disaster prevention meeting.
Authorities said the typhoon left South Korea off the coast of Ulsan on Tuesday morning but left a trail of destruction in its wake.
It is expected to travel at a slightly slower pace towards the northern Japanese city of Sapporo. But sea surface temperatures are several degrees above average, which could help sustain the storm, NASA says.