Typhoon Maysak lashes North and South Korea

It is the ninth typhoon of the season. Extensive flooding in the city of Wonsan. National television broadcasts real-time news and reports by the hour. North Korea usually does not report on disasters. In the south, a woman dies in Busan: a window unhinged by the wind collapsed on her. Houses destroyed in Gangwon and Jeju; 2200 people evacuated; 92 flights cancelled. A nuclear power plant temporarily shut down.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Typhoon Maysak, the ninth of the season, hit North and South Korea this morning, causing flooding, damage to buildings and roads. In the South it also caused the death of a woman in Busan.

Pyongyang television reports the typhoon brought enormous rainfall, causing flooding in the coastal city of Wonsan (photo 2), in the east of the peninsula: 135 mm of water fell in three hours. "The entire region of Kangwon province and parts of North Hamgyong province are in the grips of the typhoon," the television station said.

North Korean TV started broadcasting news about the typhoon every hour in real time (photo 1). It had already done so last week with Typhoon Bavi. The fact surprised many analysts. It is usually very rare for the Northern media to spread news about disasters, let alone in detail and with real-time reporting.

The national television channel also gave ample space to visits by leaders to the affected areas.

Typhoon Maysak struck the south, at 6.30 this morning with winds up to 140 km / h from the east (photo 3). A woman died in Busan, hit by a window unhinged by the wind. Another 22 people were evacuated from destroyed homes in Gangwon and Jeju in the south; more than 2,200 people have been evacuated from their homes. The Disaster Center notes that more than 800 items - vehicles, trees and other property - have been destroyed (photo 4).

Activities at the Shin-Kori 4 nuclear reactor have been temporarily suspended due to an external electrical problem. But there was no leakage of nuclear material.

Electricity has also been cut to 200,000 homes, especially in the southern and eastern regions.

Due to the strong wind, at least 92 domestic flights have been suspended at Gimpo, Incheon and Jeju airports. The meteorological centre predicts that strong winds and heavy rains will last until the afternoon, also affecting the central regions of the country.