As Typhoon Champi, the 30th of the season, moves north, South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety raised its storm-and-flood crisis alert for five provinces and cities, including Jeju, South Jeolla-Gwangju, Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang, from ‘Attention’ to ‘Caution’ from 6 p.m. on the 24th. Heavy rain with gales is forecast for Jeju and the south coast through the 26th.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, the ministry held a situation assessment meeting chaired by its natural disaster response director and decided to raise the alert. The upgrade covers Jeju, South Jeolla-Gwangju, Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang and took effect at 6 p.m. on the 24th. At 4 p.m. that day, preliminary typhoon advisories had already been issued for the far sea south of Jeju and the far sea east of the South Sea.
광고 문의 · 300×250Heavy rain has already fallen on Jeju’s Mount Halla. As of 6 p.m., accumulated rainfall stood at 209 mm at Samgakbong, 195.5 mm at Jindallaebat and 191 mm at Witseoreum. The Kyunghyang Shinmun report did not give the typhoon’s current position, strength or expected track.
More on-site managers dispatched
After Jeju, the ministry will send additional on-site situation managers to South Jeolla-Gwangju, Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang to check local responses and support the field. At an inter-agency meeting the day before, officials were told to inspect facilities vulnerable to strong winds, such as outdoor signs and construction-site barriers. Drainage upkeep, including storm drains, and plans for pre-emptive control of hazardous areas are also under close review.
Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung said the ministry would do its utmost to manage the situation so that no lives or property are lost. The Jeju and Seogwipo coast guard stations have issued a ‘caution’ under the coastal safety accident risk forecast system since the 21st, stepping up patrols of rocky shores and breakwaters. The coast guard urged people to stay away from the coast and to check weather information often.
A track through the East China Sea toward western Kyushu
According to a Korea Meteorological Administration forecast relayed by Wikitree on the 21st, Champi was then a ‘super’ typhoon south-southeast of Okinawa, with a central pressure of 900 hPa and maximum winds of 59 m/s. That forecast had it northeast of Taipei on the 24th, about 380 km southeast of Shanghai on the 25th and about 110 km west of Kagoshima by the morning of the 26th. This was a forecast as of the 21st and may have changed since; the same report expected the storm to weaken considerably as it approached Korea.
The report also noted that the Korean and Japanese weather agencies differed in their track forecasts. Because the storm passes waters near China’s eastern coast, readers in the Chinese-speaking world also need to keep watching conditions in the East China Sea. The latest position and strength should be checked against official weather agency announcements.