Typhoon Muifa batters island, forces warnings

SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- Typhoon Muifa wreaked havoc on South Korea's southernmost island Sunday, as the country's meteorological office issued warnings across the southwestern provinces.
Muifa, the ninth typhoon of the year spawned in the West Pacific, was moving northwest along the west coast of South Korea Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
The typhoon battered Jeju Island, leaving nearly 20,000 households without electricity.
As many as 196 flights were canceled Sunday amid heavy downpours and strong winds on the scenic southern island. Meteorological officials said the typhoon came within 220 kilometers west of Seogwipo in the southern part of Jeju as of 3 p.m.
Cities across the island received more than 100 millimeters of rain Sunday, and they were getting up to 60 millimeters of precipitation per hour.
According to the KMA, Muifa was traveling at 28 kilometers per hour as of 11 a.m. Sunday over waters southwest Jeju Island.
The typhoon was heading northwest and is expected to reach Dalian of China by Monday night.
Muifa is expected to put most of South Jeolla Province in the southwestern part of South Korea under its influence.
As of 3 p.m., the KMA issued typhoon warnings for 18 cities, counties or islands in South Jeolla. Warnings were also posted for Jeju Island, the southern part of the Yellow Sea and the western waters of the South Sea.
The KMA placed several other Jeolla towns under a typhoon advisory, a notch below a warning.
The agency said Daejeon, a metropolitan city in the central province of South Chungcheong, and later Seoul and Incheon, west of the capital city, will likely be affected by Muifa later Sunday.
By Monday, Seoul and its satellite cities will have downpours with strong winds, the KMA said.