Typhoon Haishen lashes South Korea after battering Japanese islands

Hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power across much of Japan's southern islands

High waves caused by Typhoon Haishen crash at seawall in Busan, South Korea. Reuters

Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, convening and guiding a meeting of the Executive Policy Council of the Central Committee of the WPK for organising the campaign for recovery from natural disasters in areas in South and North Hamgyong provinces hit by typhoon, in North Korea. EPA

A fishman walks through heavy rain during weather caused by typhoon Haishen, near Imwon harbor in Donnghae, Gangwon-do province, South Korea. EPA

A part of a road and riverside near the Taehwa River are flooded due to heavy rain in Ulsan, South Korea. AP

A man diverts traffic on a submerged road caused by typhoon Haishen in Sokcho, South Korea. Reuters

An SUV vehicle drives through a submerged road caused by typhoon Haishen in Gangneung, South Korea. Reuters

High waves batter the coastline as Typhoon Haishen approaches in the southeastern port city of Busan. AFP

An electronic board shows the cancellations of domestic flights due to approaching typhoon at the arrival hall of the Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea. AP

A landslide-hit apartment in Geoje, South Korea. AFP

Residents mend the roof broken by strong wind following a typhoon in Amami, Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan. AP

A destroyed roof lies on a street after typhoon Haishen hit Kyushu island overnight in Fukuoka, Japan. EPA

A clean-up crew works to remove roofs which were blown off into a street by strong winds brought by Typhoon Haishen in Fukuoka as the storm passes the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. AFP

A tree is broken by strong winds as typhoon hits the city in Saga, southwestern Japan. AP

Rescuers work at a landslide site as a typhoon hit Shiiba village, Miyazaki prefecture, southwestern Japan. AP

A man makes his way through strong wind with his umbrella broken by the wind in Amami city, Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan. AP

People work to clean a collapsed wall of a building in Fukuoka, Japan. Getty Images

The roofs of a car factory are seen on sidewalk after typhoon hit Fukuoka, southwestern Japan. AP

A powerful typhoon damaged buildings, flooded roads and knocked out power to thousands of homes in South Korea on Monday after battering southern Japanese islands and leaving more than 20 people injured.

On Monday morning, initial assessments suggested the storm had done less damage than feared, though hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power across much of Japan's southern Kyushu island.

The storm, carrying top sustained winds of up to 126 kilometres (78 miles) per hour, was headed north from a southern city of Ulsan, after landing on a nearby shore on Monday morning, South Korea's weather agency said.

High winds have already cut power to almost 5,000 households in the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, including the resort island of Jeju, which has reported more than 473 mm (19 inches) of rainfall since Saturday.

Officials have evacuated almost 1,000 people, while more than 300 flights across 10 airports, including Jeju International Airport, have been cancelled. Entries to national parks and some national train services have been suspended, the country's safety ministry added.

Haishen, which means "sea god" in Chinese, approached the southeastern coast of South Korea, packing sustained winds of up to 144 kph (89 mph).

The storm slammed Okinawa and other islands over the weekend with heavy rain, rough waves and high tides.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Monday that at least 20 people, including two seriously, were injured in several southern prefectures. As of Monday morning, about half a million homes were still out of power.

Haishen is the second typhoon in less than two weeks to take a similar path through southern Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Typhoon Maysak last week injured dozens of people and damaged homes and other buildings.

A livestock cargo ship capsized and sank off Japan's coast during stormy weather as Maysak passed. Two of its 43 crew members were rescued and one body was recovered before the search was halted because of Haishen. The ship was transporting 5,800 cows from New Zealand to China.

North Korea, which bore the brunt of both Maysak and Typhoon Bavi a week earlier, is also in Haishen's trajectory with the storm expected to draw near the port city of Chongjin late Monday.

Live footage on state TV, a rarity that has now been broadcast for three weeks, showed trees shaking and waves rising in Tongchon county in Gangwon province bordering the South. The state broadcaster reported that all Tongchon residents had been evacuated.

North Korea's agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable to severe weather, and this summer's storms and floods have raised concerns over the country's tenuous food situation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday toured coastal areas hit by Maysak, and ordered party members to join the recovery effort.