Heavy Rain Predicted for Jeju, Youngnam, and Kangwon Today

The 18th typhoon of the year, Songda, which is heading north, is forecasted to swerve its direction more towards Japan and the East Sea than had been originally forecast.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced on September 6, “Typhoon Songda was initially expected to cut through the Straits of Korea, but changed its direction towards Japan 360km south of Jeju Seogwipo, and it is forecasted that the typhoon will move away to the East Sea after passing through the strait between Kyushu and Daema (Tsushima) Island as of 10 a.m. on September 7.”

However, the KMA forecasted, “As Typhoon Songda is a super typhoon which has a “super” intensity and covers over 600km in radius, strong winds are expected along with precipitation of more than 50-100mm (over 150mm in some areas) in the areas of Jeju, Kangwon, Youngdong, and Youngnam, between Monday night, September 6, and Tuesday morning, September 7. ”

The KMA officially announced a typhoon alert at the Busan and Gyeongnam areas on the morning of September 7, and is planning to issue a typhoon alert for some areas of Gyeongbuk and Gangwon as well.

Meanwhile the KMA said, “After Typhoon Songda passes through, the possibility of Korea being influenced by another typhoon will be low, as cold air will advance southwards,” and added, “However, we cannot eliminate the possibility of one more typhoon striking Korea.”

Hyun-Doo Lee ruchi@donga.com