Coastal areas, Jeju hit hard by downpours and strong winds

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- A powerful rainstorm battered parts of South Korea between Monday evening and early Tuesday morning, with the southern and eastern coastal areas and Jeju Island hit hard by heavy downpours accompanied by strong winds, officials said.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSC), 170 millimeters of rain fell in Gangneung, an eastern coastal city about 240 kilometers east of Seoul, as of 10 a.m. Tuesday. Its neighboring county of Goseong reported a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 32.3 meters per second (mps), they said.

The precipitation in Jeju, Busan, Ulsan and Seoul reached 224.5 mm, 140 mm, 118.5 mm and 73 mm, respectively, as of 5 a.m., the agency said, noting the southern resort island of Jeju was also hit particularly hard by gusts blowing at maximum instantaneous speeds of over 30 mps.

The maximum instantaneous wind speed over Jeju International Airport reached 31.1 mps late Monday night, forcing the cancellations of 10 flights, while 23 cases of property damage, including destroyed house roofs and windows and fallen street trees, were reported overnight from the island.

The CDSC said a total of 22 houses and a dozen vehicles were flooded by downpours overnight across the country, with a total of 16 domestic flights canceled. But no casualties have been reported, it noted.

Numerous collapses of house walls, utility poles and street trees were also reported in Busan and the neighboring southeastern coastal areas battered by heavy rain of over 100 mm and strong winds with maximum instantaneous speeds of up to 17 mps, the agency noted.

The KMA lifted its heavy rain advisory for almost all parts of the country Tuesday morning, but maintained its heavy rain warning for Gangwon Province's coastal areas that include Gangneung, forecasting heavy downpours and strong winds in the region until late evening.

A strong wind advisory is still in effect in Jeju and southern and western coastal areas.

"Very strong winds and heavy downpours are expected in Gangwon's coastal areas until late evening," the KMA said, asking the affected residents to take precautions against various safety accidents.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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