Sharjah 24 – Reuters: South Korea authorities evacuated more than 14,000 people and closed schools in flood-hit areas as tropical storm Khanun swept over the peninsula on Thursday, having pounded southern Japan over the past week.
Downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm, Khanun made landfall on the southeast coast, and was heading towards the South Korean capital Seoul.
Khanun could also strike North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, early on Friday and state media there reported that the military and the ruling party had been ordered to prepare flood-mitigation measures and salvage crops.
In South Korea, some 350 flights and 450 train routes were cancelled, and more than 14,000 people were moved to safety, the interior ministry said.
One person was missing in the southeastern city of Daegu after falling into the river in a wheelchair, the ministry said, adding it was looking into the death of another person in the same city.
The storm brought up to 60 mm of rain per hour in some east coast towns, and maximum wind speeds of 126 kilometres per hour in the southeastern port city of Busan, the weather agency said.
Khanun was passing South Korea's eastern coastal province of Gangwon as of 20:30 p.m. (1130 GMT), losing a little speed as it moved northwards at 23 kph toward the greater Seoul area.
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