Strong winds sweep across S.Korea, causing damage

Seoul, April 13 (IANS) Strong winds swept across South Korea on Sunday, toppling structures and causing power outages in various parts of the nation, authorities said.

In Gyeonggi Province, where a strong wind advisory had been issued, gusts reached up to 22.9 metres per second earlier in the day, Yonhap news agency reported.

In Suwon, south of Seoul, a signboard in an entertainment district fell onto parked vehicles, and a wall near Suwon Station collapsed onto a pedestrian walkway. No injuries were reported in either incident.

Strong winds caused power outages in several regions.

The roof of an abandoned factory in Ulsan, about 410 km southeast of Seoul, was torn off by strong winds and struck a nearby utility pole, resulting in a power outage that affected around 50 households.

A broken tree branch damaged a high-voltage power line in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, cutting electricity to more than 800 households.

As of Sunday evening, strong winds were expected to continue across most regions of the country through midnight, while gusts of 20 to 25 metres per second were forecast to persist on the southern resort island of Jeju through Monday.

With the fierce winds, outdoor structures collapsed one after another, causing vehicles to be covered. At about 10:50 a.m., a signboard installed in the entertainment district of Ingyedong in Suwon fell onto parked cars, and just 20 minutes earlier, a several-metre-long wall collapsed onto the pedestrian path near Suwon Station. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

In the Cheoin District of Yongin, a rest area at a gas station collapsed, isolating one person who was later rescued, and the fire department of Gyeonggi Province reported that they completed more than 100 safety measures due to structural overturns or collapses.

In Daejeon, shortly after noon at 12:07 p.m., a window was broken on the eigth floor of a mixed-use building in Jung-gu, prompting a response from the 119 rescue team. In Seogwipo City, Jeju, and Jocheon-eup, Jeju City, decades-old trees could not withstand the strong winds and fell onto the road.

--IANS

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