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Just days after Typhoon Bavi hit the Korean Peninsula, another powerful storm is heading for the region.
Typhoon Maysak has formed in the eastern Philippines and is gaining strength as it moves toward South Korea.
Maysak, which is known locally in the Philippines as Julian, is currently located about 900 km (575 miles) south of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa in the East China Sea between Taiwan and mainland Japan.
The storm currently has winds of 150 km / h (90 mph) with gusts of up to 185 km / h (115 mph).
Further strengthening is expected and Typhoon Maysak is forecast to reach peak intensity Monday with winds of approximately 220 km / h (140 mph) with significantly higher gusts.
This would make it equivalent to a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The system will then cross the Ryukyu Islands with the winds slowly easing as it moves through the East China Sea.
Typhoon Maysak is expected to hit South Korea at around 3am on Wednesday (18:00 GMT Tuesday).
At this stage it is still likely to be a powerful storm with winds of about 185 km / h (115 mph) with gusts possibly as high as 220 km / h (140 mph).
This would make it the equivalent of a major Category 3 hurricane.
Last week, Typhoon Bavi, the strongest typhoon of the year so far with sustained winds of 155 km / h (96 mph), struck the western side of South Korea before causing damage in North Korea on Thursday.
Maysak should be a little further east. Damaging winds and torrential rains are likely to cause widespread disruption with new flooding and damaging winds across much of the Korean Peninsula.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
