Typhoon Omais heads upwards to coastal areas of S. Korea

With the onset of the monsoon season this fall, the 12th typhoon of this season, Omais, is advancing upwards to hit South Korea. A burst of heavy rain awaits the whole country until Wednesday.

The Meteorological Administration of South Korea forecast on Sunday that Omais will pass near Jeju Island on Monday afternoon and land on the southern coast of the country during nighttime. At first, the agency updated its earlier forecast of the typhoon moving northward from Japan to lose power to a point of dissipation before it reaches South Korea. Given that it will arrive in South Korea in the form of a typhoon as it is still small in size with ocean temperatures high. It is expected to subside on Tuesday morning after its landing on the Korean Peninsula.

Added to the forthcoming typhoon, a monsoonal front is at play as well to cause a great deal of rain more than 50-70mm/h across the nation from Monday through to Wednesday. The nation's southern area including Jeju Island is poised to suffer a large-sized rainstorm at a speed of 100km/h. A rainfall of up to 400mm is forecast across the southern part of the nation until Tuesday

The monsoonal front is staying around the south of Jeju Island. Weather forecasts show that the Chungcheong and southern regions will spend a series of rainy days even after Thursday onward with the monsoonal front still lingering until the end of this month. The weather agency anticipates that other regions may come under the influence of the monsoonal front over time.

Meanwhile, a combination of tough winds and heavy rains across the nation brought a series of damage during the weekend. As of Sunday, a total of 100 damage reports including roads inundated with rainwater were submitted to the firefighting authorities in Busan where a heavy rain warning was issued on Saturday.


1am@donga.com