Typhoon hits S Korea
Flights halted, power cut :
SKOREA: Dozens of flights were cancelled, power cuts halted
subway lines and kindergartens were closed when Typhoon Kompasu hit
central South Korea early Thursday, officials said.
The storm, which had Tuesday passed over the Japanese island of
Okinawa, was the strongest to hit the Seoul metropolitan area for 15
years.
It reached the west coast of South Korea early Thursday and was
expected to move to the Sea of Japan (East Sea) in the afternoon.
Most above-ground sections of Seoul’s extensive subway network were
out of service because of power cuts, and drivers and pedestrians had to
contend with toppled trees and strong winds.
The National Emergency Management Agency said four people were
reported injured as of 8am. Yonhap news agency said an 80-year-old man
at Seosan in South Chungcheong province had died after being hit by a
flying roof tile.
The Seoul education office asked elementary and middle schools in the
capital to delay the start of classes by two hours. All public and
private kindergartens were ordered closed for the day.
All flights were cancelled before 9am Thursday at Gimpo International
Airport in Seoul, officials said. Incheon International Airport west of
the capital cancelled or diverted nearly 40 domestic or international
flights. Seoul, Thursday, AFP |