Damage from Mitag grows after typhoon brings heavy rain to Korea

SEOUL (The Korea Herald/ANN) -- South Korea remains on alert for damage stemming from Typhoon Mitag, which exited the peninsula Thursday morning after battering the country in heavy downpour, takin lives, flooding homes and roads and damaging properties.
As of 10:30 am Thursday, six people had been confirmed dead with four injured and five still missing, according to the Central Headquarters of Safety and Countermeasures Against Disasters. Instances of damage were mostly reported in South Jeolla Province, Gangwon Province and the Gyeongsang provinces, which were directly hit by the tropical storm.

Flood in South Korea.

Up to 500 millimetres of rain pounded Samcheok, Gangwon Province, which recorded a maximum 129 mm per hour in some parts of the region. A woman, 77, died when a landslide struck her home.
Heavy casualties were reported in North Gyeongsang Province, where 200 mm to 555 mm of rain lashed down on most parts of the region. Uljin, through which Mitag exited the peninsula, recorded 555.6 mm of rain as of 10 a.m. Thursday.
A 47-year-old woman in Pohang and a 76-year-old man in Seongju were found dead after being swept away by flooding. A woman, 59, in Yeongdeok was confirmed dead after her house was hit by landslide. Around 9 a.m., a couple in their 60s living in Uljin were rescued from below their collapsed house, but were confirmed dead on the way to hospital. A 72-year-old man in Pohang is reported to be buried under a collapsed roof. Authorities were also searching for the driver of a car that had been swept away on a flooded road in Pohang. The car was discovered without the driver.
A flood watch alert was issued at 8:20 a.m. Thursday in Busan -- marking the first time in seven years -- as Nakdong River swelled from the torrential rain that continued to lash down over the area throughout the morning.
A landslide occurred around 9 am in Saha-gu, Busan, engulfing a nearby house and restaurant. Police said they were searching for three people in the house and one in the restaurant who are believed to be buried under the collapsed buildings.
Over 260 people lost their homes in the Gangwon Province, South Gyeongsang Province and Jeju Island, while more than 1,500 people had to be evacuated. Four are being treated for injuries on Jeju Island.
Property and infrastructure damages were also reported. Around 100 buildings in South Jeolla Province and on Jeju Island were flooded and five destroyed. Several farming facilities in the areas were also affected.
Other damage includes the derailment of a train traveling on the Yeongdong Line at 3:36 am Thursday due to a nearby landslide. Passengers were evacuated from the train and a recovery operation was in progress.
About 44,000 homes experienced power outages overnight in typhoon-hit areas. Electricity has been restored in around 82 percent of the homes.
Mitag made landfall on the southern coast of South Jeolla Province at around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday and traveled quickly eastward, exiting to the East Sea through Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, at around 6 a.m. on Thursday.
Among the seven typhoons that have now hit South Korea this year, Mitag is the only one that moved across the inland region from west to east and is likely to have caused the most damage.

(Latest Update October 7, 2019)