Heavy downpours continued to soak South and North Korea on Friday (Aug 11) as tropical storm Khanun swept over the peninsula after pummelling Japan, putting Pyongyang on high alert for flood damage.
The storm weakened into a tropical depression as it crossed into North Korea overnight, and military and ruling party officials mobilised to minimise its impact on the country’s fragile economy
In some parts of South Korea, cumulative rainfall has topped 400mm since Thursday with maximum wind speeds of 126kph, flooding villages, schools and roads.
Almost 16,000 people evacuated, but about 60 per cent of them had returned home as of 6am, and about 350 flights and 450 train routes has cancelled, according to the interior ministry.
One person has missing in the southeastern city of Daegu after falling into a river in a wheelchair. And another person reported dead in the same city, but the ministry said neither case directly linked to the storm.
The 37,000 youngsters participating in the World Scout Jamboree, who moved out of their campsite over typhoon concerns on Tuesday, scheduled to wrap up their trip with a K-pop concert on Friday.
The Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers’ Party’s mouthpiece, reported on Friday that officials ordered to implement a round-the-clock disaster emergency response system and devise evacuation plans.
It published photos of officials in raincoats inspecting ports and rivers and farmers preparing fields.