South Korea braces for ‘very strong’ typhoon, businesses limit operations

SEOUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) – South Korea raised its typhoon alert level to its highest level on Monday as Typhoon Shinnam Nuo approached South Korea, forcing flight cancellations, some businesses and schools to close.

Heavy rain and strong winds battered the south of the country, with the typhoon moving north at 24 kilometers per hour (15 mph). Hinnamnor is expected to make landfall southwest of the port city of Busan early on Tuesday, before reaching the waters off Jeju Island later on Monday.

President Yoon Si-yeol said on Monday that he would be in a state of emergency a day after he ordered authorities to do everything possible to minimize damage from the typhoon, which was classified as “very strong.”

“Due to the influence of the typhoon, very strong winds and heavy rain are expected across the country through Tuesday, and very high waves and storms and tsunamis are expected in coastal areas,” the Korea Meteorological Agency (KMA) said.

According to KMA forecasts, Hinnamnor will head northeast to Sapporo, Japan.

South Korea classifies typhoons into four categories – normal, strong, very strong, super strong – and Hinnamnor is expected to arrive in the country as a “very strong” typhoon, according to the KMA. Typhoons in this category have wind speeds of up to 53 meters per second.

Following Jeju Island in the south, warnings were issued for southern cities including Gwangju, Busan, Daegu and Ulsan, while the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters raised the typhoon warning level on Sunday to the highest of the four-level system, the highest in five years. the first time.

Rain in and around the city of Busan has been expected throughout the weekend, with more rain expected across the country on Monday and Tuesday.

Although more than 100 people were evacuated and at least 11 facilities were damaged by flooding, no casualties have been reported so far.

Steelmaker POSCO (005490.KS) told Reuters it was considering suspending some of its production processes in Pohang on Tuesday, while SK Innovation (096770.KS), owner of South Korea’s biggest refiner SK Energy, said it asked for transport Do not run the boat until the typhoon passes.

South Korean shipbuilders Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (009540.KS), Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) (042660.KS) and Samsung Heavy Industries said in response to local media reports of a planned shutdown that a decision will be made later on Monday. time to suspend its operations.

Korean Air (003490.KS) and Asiana Airlines (020560.KS) have canceled most of their Monday flights to Jeju Island, while budget airlines such as Air Seoul and Jin Air have cancelled some flights, according to their website.

Reporting by Joori Roh; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

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