Govt braces for Typhoon Krosa as it nears the Korean Peninsula

The government is on alert Wednesday as Typhoon Krosa is forecast to affect the eastern part of the country, officials said.

The powerful tropical storm is heading northward from western Japan and will likely skirt the eastern coastal regions, including Busan, Ulsan and the easternmost islands of Ulleung and Dokdo, early Thursday, according to the country's weather agency. Krosa is not expected to make landfall in South Korea.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said it had raised the typhoon advisory by a notch to "cautionary" as of 6 p.m. and convened the central crisis management team to get into an emergency mode. 

(Yonhap)

The ministry held a series of meetings with related agencies earlier in the day to prepare for the approaching typhoon.

Seoul has called on residents in potentially exposed areas to abstain from leaving their homes and brace for strong winds and heavy rains. (Yonhap)