Christian Message Boards: Typhoon Rusa leaves 47 dead in South Korea

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By JAE-SUK YOO, Associated Press

AP Photo/Yonhap
Rescue workers pull an elderly woman in a boat through flood waters in Kangnyung City, 125 miles east of Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2002. Typhoon Rusa caused floods and landslides across the Korean peninsula Saturday, killing at least 26 people after whipping up waves that swept away two U.S. Marines in Japan.

SEOUL, South Korea (September 1, 2002 3:10 p.m. EDT) - Soldiers and anti-disaster officials began repair work Sunday after the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in decades left at least 47 people dead and 33 missing in flash floods and landslides.

The government's National Disaster Prevention and Countermeasures Headquarters was trying to confirm reports that dozens more people were swept away by floodwaters or buried in landslides caused by Typhoon Rusa.

"Reports of casualties are coming in from everywhere. Considering past typhoon damages, we believe the death toll would hover over 100," said an official at anti-disaster headquarters on condition of anonymity.

Rusa, the Malaysian word for deer, was the most powerful typhoon to hit the Korean peninsula since Sarah in 1959, which left over 840 people dead or missing. In 1987, Typhoon Thelma left over 350 people dead or missing.

Local media reported up to 132 people dead or missing from Rusa, and said the death toll was expected to rise further. KBS TV said 83 people were killed and 49 others were missing.

Rusa has dumped up to 36 inches of rain over the weekend in eastern and southern South Korea. It left the peninsula Sunday afternoon moving across the east coast without causing further damage.

Wind gusts of up to 127 mph had ripped up trees and knocked down 7,800 electricity poles, causing a blackout for 1.16 million households. Some 240,000 homes still had no power on Sunday, and 140,000 homes remained without telephone service.

Parts of a field hockey stadium and other facilities built for the Sept. 29-Oct. 14 Asian Games were wrecked. The games, Asia's Olympics, are to be held in the southern coastal city of Busan, South Korea's second-largest city.

More than 17,000 houses and buildings in low-lying areas were submerged, forcing 27,474 residents to take shelter at public buildings and schools. Floods inundated 12,621 acres of farm land.

President Kim Dae-jung convened an emergency Cabinet meeting Sunday and ordered the government and military to mobilize personnel and equipment for rescue and repair operations.

With rains subsiding, anti-disaster officials began cleaning roads and railways that were cut off by floods and landslides. Parts of three rail lines and three highways remained closed late Sunday.

Tens of thousand of flood victims, who had been forced to evacuate to public buildings and schools, began cleaning their mud-covered homes. Authorities began working to restore electricity and telephone services.

Most airports reopened, except for those in Mokpo and Yosu on the west coast and Yangyang on the east coast. Airports in southern South Korea had been closed Saturday.

But all 96 ferries running between coastal cities and islands remained suspended late Sunday due to high waves.