A total of 54 people were reported killed or missing and a considerable amount of property damage was caused due to typhoon `Yanni,' which died off yesterday morning after wreaking havoc on the southern part of the nation, it was learned yesterday.
More than 10,000 people in the southern provinces were forced to take shelter in public facilities due to the strong winds and heavy rains in their neighborhoods.
The hardest hit area was Pohang, where more than 600 mm of rainfall was recorded. A total of 17 people there were killed or listed as missing and some 2,000 people were left homeless.
According to anti-disaster relief headquarters, 11 were killed and 19 others were listed as missing in Taegu and the Kyongsang-pukto region.
Some 16,000 rice fields were flooded in southern provinces and rice plants on about 236,000 hectares fell to the ground because of the strong winds. More than 22 percent of nation's total rice paddies were affected by the typhoon.
It is feared that the rice harvest, which was expected to yield a bumper crop this year, was severely damaged by the storm, according to relief headquarters.