(5th LD) Typhoon Maysak set to make landfall on S. Korea's southern coast

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout)

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- Typhoon Masak pummeled southern parts of South Korea with heavy rains and strong winds Wednesday, flooding streets, causing power outages and grounding hundreds of flights.

The season's ninth typhoon was barreling toward the southern coastal regions at 32 kph over seas some 117 kilometers south of Seogwipo in Jeju as of 8:30 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Its maximum wind speed was 45 meters per second.

Maysak is forecast to be one of the most powerful typhoons to hit the country in years.

It was expected to make landfall north of Busan at around 3:00 a.m. Thursday before moving northward to the country's eastern coastal regions. It was then expected to travel to North Korea before downgrading near the North's eastern city of Chongjin on Thursday night.

As of Wednesday evening, the entire country was under the influence of Maysak, with the city of Busan sealing off Geoga Bridge that links the city to the nearby island of Geoje for safety reasons.

More than 40 scheduled trains on the country's seven rail lines, including Gyeongbu Line, have been canceled or partly suspended.

The agency said that Maysak may be more powerful than Typhoon Bavi that hit the country last week and was expected to follow a similar route as Typhoon Maemi, which left 131 people dead or missing and 4.2 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) in damage in 2003.

The weather agency forecast the typhoon to affect most parts of the country with heavy rains and strong winds.

Typhoon warnings were in place for seas surrounding Jeju, the south coast, southern waters of the West Sea and the East Sea as well as parts of South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces.

A record level of rain, measuring more than 120 millimeters per hour, hammered part of Jeju, with the other areas under the warnings experiencing rains of up to 50 millimeters per hour.

The wind speed in Jeju and areas along the south coast reached 44 meters per second, according to the weather agency. A wind speed of 40 mps can topple big rocks and moving vehicles.

A heavy rain alert for all of Seoul was also issued Wednesday evening with a separate typhoon alert set to take effect for the capital at midnight.

Power was disrupted at about 30,000 households in Jeju, as strong winds damaged power cables.

More than 400 domestic flights, including 180 scheduled to depart from Jeju, have been canceled at airports across the country, according to Korea Airports Corp.

Thousands of ships in coastal areas have evacuated to brace against the storm. The coast guard has designated parts of seas south and east of the peninsula as danger zones and restricted ships from operating on affected routes.

Jeju's Cheonjin port was submerged in water while strong wind toppled a street tree, damaging cars parked nearby. Including this, a total of 364 instances of damage have been reported in the island.

Some education offices in affected areas advised schools to reschedule classes or run classes online due to safety concerns.

The regional governments of South Gyeongsang Province, Busan and Ulsan went into an emergency response mode, bracing for the arrival of the typhoon.

In addition to Maysak, the season's tenth typhoon, Haishen, was also moving northward from waters northwest of Guam at the speed of 22 kph. Via Japan, the typhoon is forecast to reach the South Gyeongsang Province next Monday.

Showers were expected across South Korea over the weekend due to the typhoon.

mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)