Typhoon Nabi Creates Heavy Damage on Ulleung Island
One of my favorite places in Korea, Ulleung-do Island located off the East Coast of Korea has been heavily damaged by Typhoon Nabi:
Scarred by Typhoon Nabi, residents in the Seo district of Ulleung Island, off the east coast, have been isolated in darkness for three days.
A landslide has blocked the district’s major road. The storm also severed access to electricity, water and communication. The ferry operating between the island and the mainland has been out of service for six days, making it impossible to transport emergency supplies.
The most damage occurred in the villages of Namyang, Guam, and Taeha in the Seo district of the island, where 564.5mm of rain fell Tuesday and Wednesday, causing a massive landslide that blocked the 14-kilometer road that connects Namyang and Taeha villages. Rain flooded two creeks, completely destroying 35 houses and damaging 170 others.
The 450 people whose homes were damaged are currently living at relatives’ houses or in churches. At night, candles provide light, and drinking water is drawn once a day from a fire engine. Yesterday, government officials and residents began clearing torn branches and waste, but they have not been able to begin major restorations yet.
The small villages located around the island are built adjacent to very steep cliffs and hillsides. With the amount of water dropped on the island it is easy to imagine some pretty damaging flash floods.
The government has been constructing a new highway around the island but most of the existing highway is still a very narrow road perched along steep cliff sides. If the road gets washed out that is the only access by vehicle to the areas around the island. With the ferry cut off for the past six days as well, the people on the island must feel extremely isolated. The people on the island are very hearty bunch and I’m sure they will be able to handle the aftermath of this typhoon. I don’t expect the islanders to go on a looting and criminal rampage
I knew I could count on you to post on Ulleungdo. On Friday, I was on an express bus with TV news being shown. I saw the word Ulleungdo and saw trashed houses and such. When I got home, I could find nothing on Ulleungdo and came here. Thanks.
‘Nabi’ means prophet in Hebrew as well, I think. In Korea though, it means butterfly.
Wow! Was the typhoon REALLY named “Nabi”?
Nabi means prophet in Arabic! I thought this (naming a typhoon “Nabi”) might be a backhanded slap at the Islamic terrorists, as they are very adept at wreaking death and destruction on the innocent and unsuspecting.