Twelve killed in typhoon disaster

Typhoon Megi has killed 12 people as it swept across Asia. At least three people died in South Korea and nine in southern Japan.

The typhoon first hit on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and leaving more than 2,400 people homeless in South Korea, said Park Min-ju, an official at the country’s disaster agency.

More than 1,200 homes were flooded or destroyed.

One 47-year-old man was killed while working near a dam and a 65-year-old woman who was walking on a bridge over a brook when she was swept away by the flood, said Kang Chung, another emergency official. Another 69-year-old man also was killed, but no details were immediately available.

Missing were a 74-year-old man apparently swept away while working on a farm in Naju city, about 175 miles south of Seoul, and another 42-year-old man, Kang said.

All the casualties were in southwestern Cholla province.

The heavy weather also shut down seven airports and caused the cancellation of 41 domestic flights.

The typhoon was expected to complete its pass over the Korean Peninsula later today.

In southern Japan, Typhoon Megi left at least nine people dead and caused landslides and blackouts, officials said. Two people were missing.

Some 20 inches of rain fell in some areas of Japan since Tuesday as Typhoon Megi hit the main southern islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, the Meteorological Agency said.

By early today, the typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm.