Typhoon Maemi kills 15 in South Korea

A powerful typhoon pounded southern South Korea overnight, killing at least 15 people and leaving a swathe of destruction before exiting the country today.

The national news agency Yonhap said that the 135mph Typhoon Maemi hit the country late last night, flooding farmlands and cities, felling trees, downing power lines and triggering a landslide.

Thousands were homeless and at least 25 were missing, it said.

The worst affected was Gyeongsang province, where at least four people drowned after being swept away in a fast-flowing stream swollen by torrential rains, the agency said.

Among the remaining 11 deaths were an elderly woman killed by a landslide in Yeosu city, 280 miles south of the capital Seoul, and two people who drowned in the sea.

Thousands of people abandoned their homes to shelter at nearby schools and public facilities. In Busan, a construction crane collapsed, injuring five firefighters.

The Central Anti-Disaster Headquarters said some 1.34 million households in Gyeongsang province were without power. It said 317 hectares (783 acres) of farmland and many roads, including some highways, were flooded.

Maemi, which means cicada in Korean, passed through the east coast early today and weakened to a tropical storm.

About 9.45 inches of rain fell on Jeju City, while Seongsanpo received 10.04 inches, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

Thousands of people who visited their hometowns on the southern islands for the annual thanksgiving Chuseok holiday since Wednesday were stranded as high swells kept ferries from operating. Flight services were disrupted as well.

Traffic on the nation’s major highways slowed to a crawl as the typhoon prompted tens of thousands of travellers to return to Seoul and other major cities early.

South Korea is usually hit by a couple of typhoons each summer and early fall. In September last year, Typhoon Rusa left at least 119 dead and 65 others missing.