Powerful Typhoon Haishen slams Japan, South Korea

Typhoon Haishen is slamming the Korean Peninsula less than a week after Typhoon Maysak made landfall in South Korea.

Haishen made landfall near Ulsan, just north of Busan, on Monday morning, local time, according to The Korea Herald. The typhoon had the equivalent strength of a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale in the Atlantic or East Pacific basins.

By Monday afternoon, Haishen had emerged over the Sea of Japan. The typhoon lost wind intensity while over land, now the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic or East Pacific basins.

The Korea Herald reported that Haishen has caused significant travel disruptions, power cuts and tree damage across the region. Work was shut down at the Hyundai Motors factory in Ulsan after the power was knocked out, and the company said it may take some time for the factory to become fully operational.

Haishen's landfall marks the third significant typhoon strike within a week's time on the Korean Peninsula, following Maysak and Typhoon Bavi, which made landfall in North Korea on Aug. 27. Residents had little time to recover from these storms prior to Haishen's arrival.

This satellite image shows Haishen over the Korean Peninsula on Monday afternoon, local time. (CIRA/RAMMB)

Haishen became the first super typhoon of the season in the western Pacific Ocean this past Friday, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The typhoon first swept through southern Japan over the weekend.

Late last week, Japanese officials told residents to brace for impacts from the typhoon, urging many to evacuate their homes. By Sunday morning, local time, more than 810,000 people across four prefectures in southwest Japan were ordered to evacuate.

Minamidaitojima, a small island in southern Japan, spent much of Saturday and Saturday night in the eye wall of Haishen and reported a wind gust of 185 km/h (115 mph).

Rainfall totals of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) have already been reported across southwestern Japan. As of Sunday night, Miyakonojo in southern Kyushu has received 219 mm (8.62 inches).

According to the Kyushu Electric Power Co., at least 319,790 households were without power across the Kyushu region as of Sunday night. Technicians were responding as weather conditions allowed.

Ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Haishen, the search and rescue mission for missing sailors in the East China Sea was temporarily suspended. Dozens of sailors have been missing since the middle of last week after a cargo ship carrying cattle capsized in the rough surf from Typhoon Maysak.

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Tracking in an area of light wind shear and very warm ocean waters late last week, Haishen surpassed Maysak as the strongest storm in the West Pacific so far this season.

"Any building or infrastructure that was weakened or sustained minor damage from Maysak could then be taken out by Haishen," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said.

Widespread heavy rain will continue to fall across the Korean Peninsula and spread into northeastern China. Rainfall from Haishen, in addition to the recent heavy rain from Maysak, could lead to significant and widespread flooding.

Many areas along the path of the storm are expected to receive 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) of rain. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 400 mm (16 inches) is possible.

Because of these impacts, Haishen is expected to be a 4 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Tropical Cyclones in Japan and a 4 in South Korea. The RealImpact™ Scale is a 6-point scale with ratings of less-than-1 and 1 to 5.

In comparison to the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, which has been used by meteorologists for decades and classifies storms by wind speed only, the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale is based on a broad range of important factors. The scale covers not only wind speed, but also flooding rain, storm surge and economic damage and loss. This communicates a more comprehensive representation of the potential impact of a storm to lives and livelihoods.

Widespread flooding across North Korea and China could lead to significant agricultural impacts and crop loss as the storm sweeps through these regions early this week.

North Korea is a country that relies heavily on agriculture, so the threat for widespread flooding may put a strain on the country's food supply.

The West Pacific tropical season was suspiciously quiet earlier this summer, but has turned active and even record breaking through August and the beginning of September.

Meteorologist Robert Speta, a Western Pacific weather expert, stated that Typhoon Haishen could rival Hurricane Laura, a storm that made landfall along the Louisiana coast in August, as the strongest storm on the planet in 2020 so far.

In addition to becoming the strongest typhoon so far this year, Haishen became the fifth named tropical system to make landfall in South Korea in 2020. The five landfalls broke the record number of landfalls in the country in a single year.

Haishen is also be the fourth tropical system to impact the Korean Peninsula in the past 30 days, with each system stronger than the last.

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