Lingling becomes one of strongest typhoons to hit South Korea, kills at least 3
As Typhoon Lingling hit the Japanese island of Miyakojima on Sept. 5, residents watched as strong winds blasted a parking lot, sending a car crashing into another.
Lingling became one of the most powerful typhoons to strike South Korea on Saturday, with the storm killing at least three people, the Associated Press reported.
One of the deaths occurred as Lingling's strong winds blew a 75-year-old woman off her feet and into a wall 30 meters (98 feet) away.
At least 10 others have been injured by the storm.
The typhoon hit the southern island of Jeju during the morning hours before sweeping along South Korea's west coast and striking North Korea in the afternoon. Lingling was equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic or east Pacific basins at the time of landfall.
A fallen tree caused by Lingling lies across a walkway in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. A typhoon passed along South Korea's coast Saturday, toppling trees, grounding planes and causing at least three deaths before the storm system made landfall in North Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Power outages affected more than 127,000 homes, and hundreds of flights were grounded in South Korea, the AP said. Nearly 40 people were forced to evacuate from flooded homes in Gwangju.
Lingling is being concerned the fifth strongest typhoon to hit the country since 1959, the AP reported.
Entrance to Hallasan National Park, the country's highest mountain, was suspended ahead of Lingling, according to The Korea Herald.
Interaction with land has caused Lingling to weaken significantly.
Torrential rainfall from the tropical storm will spread out of North Korea and into northeastern China into Sunday.
Total rainfall amounts of 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) is forecast across this region, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 300 mm (12 inches) most likely in the higher elevations.
Earlier this week, Lingling brought downpours to parts of Luzon in the northern Philippines as it strengthened into a typhoon. However, the region was able to avoid any damaging winds or widespread flooding.
As AccuWeather predicted, Taiwan also avoided the most significant impacts from Lingling. The storm then swept through Japan's Ryukyu Islands, with the Miyako Airport reported wind gusts to 168 km/h (105 mph) around noon on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Faxai, which formed near Wake Island earlier this week, is forecast to track toward Japan through the weekend before making landfall west of Tokyo.
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