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Journalism of Courage
A typhoon packing record strength winds slammed into South Korea killing 48 people and forcing about 25,000 to flee their homes, authorities said on Saturday. At least 25 people were missing and the toll was expected to rise, officials said.
8216;8216;We8217;re still getting damage reports and expect more casualties,8217;8217; an official at the National Disaster Prevention Headquarters said.
Typhoon Maemi, with winds of up to 216 kph, a record for South Korea, tore into southern parts of the peninsula on Friday night, carving a swathe of destruction before heading out to sea on Saturday. Maemi means 8216;8216;cicada8217;8217; in Korean.
8216;8216;It8217;s terrible, it8217;s unbelievable,8217;8217; Park Young-chun, a farmer in the southern Kyoungsan region, told YTN television. 8216;8216;All my grape fields are devastated. How can I send my kids to school with nothing left,8217;8217; he said.
YTN television put the death toll at 103 and said rescue workers were trying to reach 10 people trapped in the basement of a collapsed shopping centre in the southern city of Masan.
The storm brought cranes crashing down onto roads and docks and ripped ships from their moorings, tossing them against each other. At least 82 vessels sank in huge seas. The worst affected area was South Kyeongsang province whereat least 15 people drowned and roads were swept away in mud sides.
Up to 453 mm of rain was dumped across some areas. A landslide in central Chungchong province derailed a Seoul-bound train and 28 passengers were injured, television said. The typhoon forced four power plants to stop operations, cutting electricity to 1.4 million households, as the country celebrated the three-day Chusok Thanksgiving festival.
Prime Minister Goh Kun chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss rescue operations. The government promised tax relief for affected individuals, companies and farms. Reuters
