Typhoon Sanba, packing winds of 155km/h, slammed into South Korea on Monday, bringing torrential rains across the country and shutting down flights and ferry services.
Sanba – the third major typhoon to hit the Korean peninsula in two months – made landfall at the southern port of Yeosu shortly before midday (11am Hong Kong time).
Moving about 35km/h, the typhoon had pounded the South Korean island of Jeju overnight on Sunday, leaving about 10,000 homes without power and damaging road networks.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
As it crossed southwestern Japan on Sunday, the typhoon had earlier claimed one life and cut power to 100,000 households.
“Although its power is diminishing due to the low sea temperature, and is expected to diminish even more after making landfall, it’s still a powerful typhoon,” said a spokesman for the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Seoul authorities warned of heavy rainfall of nearly 300mm in Jeju and southern coastal regions from Sunday to Monday night.