SEOUL – Hundreds of flights were canceled in South Korea while North Korea’s leader expressed concern about a potential loss of lives and crops as the countries braced for a fast-approaching typhoon forecast as one of the strongest to hit their peninsula this year.
Demonstrating a maximum wind speed of 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour, Typhoon “Bavi” was already influencing South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju on Wednesday afternoon, toppling trees, ripping off signboards and knocking down at least one traffic sign as it passed over waters off the island’s western shores.
South Korea’s weather agency said the typhoon will start to affect the mainland at night before making landfall in western North Korea early Thursday. The agency warned of possible “severe damages” caused by “very strong winds and heavy rainfall.”
South Korean authorities were also shutting down public parks and evacuating hundreds of fishing boats and other vessels. (AP)
