Khanun makes direct strike on South Korea after swiping Japan
Evacuations have been ordered as Tropical Storm Khanun makes landfall over the Korean Peninsula, and Khanun isn’t the only tropical system churning in the western Pacific.
After the unprecedented heat wave, officials with the Scout Jamboree in South Korea were forced to evacuate the campers due to Typhoon Khanun expected to make landfall by Aug. 10.
Evacuations are underway as Khanun, which killed at least two people in Japan last week, and after scraping the southern Islands of Japan earlier this week, it has been followed by a direct landfall in South Korea.
The tropical cyclone, which lost wind intensity and became a tropical storm last week after moving through the islands of southern Japan as a powerful typhoon, was passing just west of Kyushu, as of late Wednesday evening, local time. The system was the equivalent of a tropical storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS), and it was slowly drifting toward the north-northwest.
This Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, satellite image released by NASA shows Tropical Storm Khanun, near Japan's southwestern islands. South Korea was located in the upper left of center. (NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) via AP)
Khanun continued on a northward track into the day on Thursday, making landfall on Geoje Island, off the southeast coast, on Thursday at 9:20 a.m. local time, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Ahead of its forecast arrival, officials in both Japan and South Korea have hoisted storm warnings and issued evacuation orders, according to The New York Times.
The direct landfall has also forced thousands of scouts to relocate inland from the World Scout Jamboree campsite along the South Korean coast, according to The Associated Press. This comes in the wake of record heat last week, which caused over 100 people attending the event to seek treatment for heat-related illnesses.
Attendees of the World Scout Jamboree arrive from a scout camping site at a Hyundai Motor Group facility in Yongin, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. Buses began moving tens of thousands of Scouts to inland venues Tuesday ahead of a tropical storm, bringing an effective end to a World Scout Jamboree that had already struggled with heat, hygiene and land use controversies. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Since peaking at the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the SSWHS early this month and then losing wind intensity, the primary concern going forward will be from heavy, flooding rainfall, according to AccuWeather's team of international forecasters.
"In Kyushu and then South Korea, rainfall could total 4 to 8 inches (100-200 mm) into Thursday and Friday," according to AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.
AccuWeather meteorologists have rated Khanun as a 3 on AccuWeather's RealImpact™ Scale for tropical cyclones in Japan, mainly due to the threat of heavy rain and flooding.
Though a far cry from its peak wind intensity, Khanun is still packing a punch with strong, gusty winds as it tracks through the Korean Peninsula.
"The storm can produce wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph (95-120 km/h) across the Korean Peninsula into Thursday," said Nicholls. "These winds can result in structural damage, downed trees and power outages."
The long-lasting Khanun, which initially formed nearly two weeks ago on July 26, has already left a trail of destruction. In addition to at least two deaths reported in hard-hit Okinawa, nearly a hundred people were injured last week, and thousands more lost power.
Another typhoon to threaten Japan next week
Khanun won't be the only tropical cyclone that will threaten Eastern Asia in the coming days.
Lan, which has now strengthened into a typhoon in the western Pacific, is forecast by AccuWeather to approach the country as a typhoon by early next week.
Current indications are that Lan could pack winds equivalent to that of a Category 2 hurricane on the SSHWS as it approaches east-central Japan, including the Tokyo metropolitan area, around Monday of next week, local time.
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