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One man missing, thousands without power after Typhoon Hinnamnor tears through Korea

Published: 06 Sep. 2022, 10:58 Updated: 06 Sep. 2022, 13:06

A store in Busan Tuesday morning, damaged from Typhoon Hinnamnor [YONHAP]

One man in his 20s went missing and thousands of homes lost power as Typhoon Hinnamnor made landfall on Korea's southeastern coast at around 4:50 a.m. on Tuesday before moving out through the eastern coast nearly two and a half hours later.

No deaths have been reported so far.

A man in his 30s received a head injury while walking down a street in Busan when an object hanging from a building nearby fell and hit him. Officials noted that the injury isn’t life-threatening.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) warned the public to stay vigilant, as the typhoon was to continue bringing strong winds and heavy rains to several coastal and mountainous areas on Tuesday morning.

By the time Hinnamnor arrived in mainland Korea, it had wind speeds of 40 meters per second (89 miles per hour) and a central pressure of 955 hectopascals, making it a “strong” typhoon — the third-highest of the KMA’s four typhoon categories.

Strong winds were felt within a 400-kilometer (250-mile) radius, enough to impact the entire country.

A strong typhoon has enough force to derail trains and send billboards and rooftops flying, though not enough to pick up people and large stones or destroy buildings, the KMA notes.

Hinnamnor arrived near Geoje, South Gyeongsang, at around 4:50 a.m. on Tuesday and left the country through Ulsan at 7:10 a.m.

Compared to previous major typhoons that struck the country, South Gyeongsang fire authorities said they received far fewer calls asking for help. Police and firefighters in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang said they were involved in nearly 250 cases of rescue operations overnight.

Submerged roads in Pohang, North Gyeongsang. Thirteen people in the city were rescued from the flood. [YONHAP]

In Ulsan, police and firefighters said that an inebriated man in his 20s went missing after he and his five acquaintances dipped their feet in a river at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, just hours before the typhoon was predicted to arrive. The man appeared to have been swept away in the waters.

Officials said they were still searching for him.

In Busan, two YouTubers who were trying to film the thunderous waters behind seawalls were escorted to safety by police at around 11:40 p.m. on Monday.

Nearly 10,700 homes on Jeju Island reported blackouts.

In Seoul, at least 41 reports were filed with police and firefighters, mainly public property damage such as fallen trees.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [[email protected]]