Typhoon Danas floods roads over weekend

Typhoon Danas passed through Korea on Sunday, inundating 928 hectares of farmlands in South Jeolla and damaging houses and roads in the southern regions over the weekend.

“Typhoon Danas has weakened as it moved across Korea and has moved into the sea southeast of Gangneung, [Gangwon,] as of 10 a.m. today,” the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said on Sunday morning. “In its wake, the country will remain under cloudy weather and it will continue to rain in Gyeonggi, Gangwon, North Chungcheong and the Gyeongsang region into the night.”

The KMA on Sunday also issued a wind wave advisory in the coastal waters of Ulsan, coastal areas of the Gyeongsang region and Gangwon.

Typhoon Danas, a small-scale typhoon that traveled toward Korea from the sea near the Philippines and past the east of Taiwan, landed in an area slightly north of Gwangju, South Jeolla, around 9 p.m. Saturday. The maximum wind speed of the typhoon at the time was 14 meters per second (31 miles per hour).

It continued to move northeast, passing near Daejeon around 3 a.m. Sunday and reaching the south of Gangneung by 9 a.m. Sunday, before moving into the East Sea.

In its wake, it rained over 300 millimeters (12 inches) in South Jeolla, inundating 928 hectares of farmlands in Yeosu city and the counties of Gangjin, Haenam and Goheung, according to the South Jeolla provincial government and the Central Disaster Prevention Headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The rain also flooded one house in Wando County, South Jeolla, according to the authorities. One fisherman in the county was reported injured after trying to dock his ship Friday evening.

At least six roads in Yeosu had to be repaired due to the heavy rainfall over the weekend and one bus stop was reported to be in need of repair in Hwasun County, also in South Jeolla.

There were at least eight reports of fallen trees on streets in Gwangju on Saturday.

Busan, a southern port city which was not hit directly by the typhoon, reported damages from the heavy rainfall.

It rained 300.5 millimeters (11.8 inches) in Jin District and 290.5 millimeters in Geumjeong District of Busan from Friday to Saturday.

A few households in Geumjeong reported walls falling down and pavement giving way under the rain, resulting in 10 people evacuating temporarily.

At least two roads in Gangseo District, Busan, were off limits to traffic on Saturday after minor landslides.

At least five houses in Busan and 19 houses on Jeju Island were reported to have flooded as of Saturday.

With the typhoon having left Korea by Sunday morning, however, heat waves were forecasted throughout most of the country in the afternoon.

KMA issued on Sunday heat wave advisories in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Sejong, Daegu, Daejeon and the Gyeongsang and Chungcheong regions.

BY KANG CHAN-SU, YONHAP [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]