Powerful Typhoon Batters Central Korea

Typhoon Kompasu swept through central Korea Thursday with strong winds and heavy rain, killing three people and interrupting Seoul subway operations.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said the typhoon landed on Ganghwa Island off the west coast around 6:35 a.m., about six hours earlier than expected, and moved northeast at 24-27 meters per second in the morning. Kompasu left the Korean Peninsula around 10:50 a.m. through waters off Goseong County, Gangwon Province.

The seventh typhoon of the year brought powerful winds rather than heavy rain. Its maximum instantaneous wind speed reached 52.4 meters per second, the sixth strongest in the country’s recorded history. Kompasu also hit Seoul and vicinity with strong winds of around 30 meters per second.

The typhoon brought relatively less rain, with precipitation reaching 50.5 millimeters in Seoul, 131.5 millimeters in Ganghwa, and 125 millimeters in the township of Munsan in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The weather agency attributed the relatively small amount of rain to the typhoon’s rapid speed.

Affected by the typhoon, Seoul subway lines Nos. 1, 2 and 4 saw interrupted service in the morning rush hour. Electric power was cut off at 1.56 million homes nationwide.

Around 6:30 a.m., a 37-year-old man in the southern Seoul suburb of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was killed after being hit by a fallen tree.