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

SEOUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) – South Korea raised its typhoon alert to its highest level on Monday as the approach of Typhoon Hinnamnor forced flights to be cancelled, some commercial operations to be suspended and schools to close.

Heavy rains and strong winds hit the south of the country as the typhoon approached from the south at a speed of 33 km per hour (20.5 mph). Hinnamnor is expected to make landfall southwest of the port city of Busan early Tuesday, after reaching the resort island of Jeju on Monday.

President Yoon Suk-yeol said he would be on emergency standby, a day after ordering authorities to do their best to minimize damage from the typhoon.

“Very strong winds and heavy rain are expected across the country through Tuesday due to the typhoon, and very high waves are expected in the coastal region along with thunderstorms and tsunamis,” the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.

Hinnamnor is on a course that will take it northeast toward Sapporo, Japan, he said.

South Korea classifies typhoons into four categories: normal, strong, very strong, super strong. “Very strong” typhoons like Hinnamnor have winds of up to 53 meters per second.

Warnings have been issued in the southern cities of Gwangju, Busan, Daegu and Ulsan, as well as Jeju, while the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters has upgraded its typhoon alert level to the highest in its four-tier system. levels for the first time. time in five years.

The city of Busan and neighboring areas have received rain throughout the weekend, with more forecasts across the country for Monday and Tuesday.

No casualties have been reported, although more than 100 people have been evacuated and some facilities have been damaged by the flooding.

Shipbuilders Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS)Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) (042660.KS) and Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS) said they would stop operations early on Tuesday.

LG Electronics Associate (066570.KS) said it would halt operations on Tuesday at its Gumi production facility that makes large OLED TVs, while steelmaker POSCO (005490.KS) is halting operations at its production facilities, including its furnaces, on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency said.

SK Innovation (096770.KS)Owner of South Korea’s top refiner, SK Energy, said it has asked shipping vessels not to operate until the typhoon passes.

Korean airlines (003490.KS) and Asian Airlines (020560.KS) have canceled most of their Monday flights to Jeju Island, according to their websites, while low-cost airlines such as Air Seoul and Jin Air have canceled some of their flights.

Information from Joori Roh; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Edited by Muralikumar Anantharaman

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