SEOUL, Aug 10 — Typhoon Jangmi, the season’s fifth typhoon, hit the country’s southern resort island of Jeju on Monday while the country’s first monsoon season to extend into mid-August in decades showed no sign of letting up, Yonhap news agency reported.
Rain was forecast for all regions of the country as Jangmi was traveling northeastward at a speed of 38 kilometers per hour at seas some 210 kilometers southeast of Seogwipo in Jeju as of 7 a.m local time.
The typhoon, which means “rose” in Korean, came as the country is going through an unusually long monsoon season this year.
This year’s monsoon season, which began on June 24 in the central region, has shown no signs of letting up, and it is likely to end later than the Aug. 10 record in 1987.
The monsoon season is also expected to set a fresh record as the longest one after a 49-day record in 2013. The monsoon has continued for 47 days and is likely to exceed 50 days, as seasonal rain is forecast to extend to mid-August.
The seasonal rain, which has pounded the central region with heavy downpours in August, has left 42 people dead or missing and damaged 14,091 facilities. Nearly 7,000 have been displaced from their homes.
Source: BERNAMA