October 2, 2026
BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Rains and winds were growing in southern South Korea Wednesday as a tropical storm drew closer to the Korean Peninsula, where it was forecast to slam into major urban areas.
Dozens of flights and ferry services were grounded and tens of thousands of fishing vessels evacuated to ports as government officials raised concerns about potentially huge damages from flooding, landslides and tidal waves triggered by the typhoon-strength winds.
The storm, named Khanun, was gaining strength as it moved slowly towards the country, South Korea's weather agency said, with southern and eastern areas increasingly feeling its force.
Khanun is expected to reach the southern resort island of Jeju hours later and then make landfall near the mainland port of Tongyeong Thursday morning.
The agency says Khanun could have a punishing impact as it will likely slice through the center of the country over several hours, with the storm’s eye brushing the capital city of Seoul, while packing winds blowing at 56 to 97 mph.
The storm is expected to dump 4 to 16 inches of rain in southern and central regions and as much as 24 inches in the country’s mountainous eastern regions through Friday. It will be weaker as it blows into North Korea early in the day.
In Busan, a major port city on the mainland’s southwest, pedestrians struggled to hold onto their umbrellas. At the city’s beaches, workers were deflating and tying swimming tubes to trees and setting up sandbags and flood shields in front of buildings.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for officials to be aggressive with disaster prevention measures and evacuations while stressing the perils posed by the storm, which comes just weeks after central and southern regions were pounded by torrential rain that triggered flash floods and landslides that killed at least 47 people.
In an emergency meeting on Wednesday, Yoon expressed concern that Khanun could inflict huge damage because it was expected to move slowly through the country while sustaining much of its strength for hours. He called for officials to “fully mobilize all available resources” to minimize injuries and deaths.
The Korea Airport Corporation said at least 144 flights going in and out of Jeju were canceled as of 11 a.m. as Khanun approached. Ferry services connecting the island with mainland ports were also canceled while authorities shut down at least 39 roads, 26 riverside parking lots and 613 hiking trails nationwide as part of broader preventive measures.
Lee Hak-beom, an official from the Korean Coast Guard, said all but 200 of the country’s 64,000 registered fishing vessels have evacuated to ports as of Wednesday morning.
Khanun has forced South Korea to evacuate the World Scout Jamboree that had been taking place at a coastal campsite in the southwestern county of Buan. Some 37,000 scouts had to be relocated Tuesday.
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