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CNN Live At Daybreak

South Korea Cleans up After Deadly Typhoon

Aired September 02, 2002 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: A much more powerful storm swept across South Korea. The major storm systems are called typhoons, of course, not hurricanes, but they are deadly nonetheless. Typhoon Rusa has been a relentless storm.
And our Seoul bureau chief, Sohn Jie-Ae, is joining us now by telephone with the very latest.

What can you tell us -- Jie-Ae?

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN SEOUL BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Catherine, many thousands of people here in South Korea had a devastating day. It was the Monday after the Typhoon Rusa just wreaked havoc over the Korean Peninsula.

The loss of human life from the typhoon is officially about 158 or about. We are seeing 88 dead, 70 missing. And officials say there are about -- maybe about 30 that will be added on to the missing or dead count pretty soon. So we're looking at substantial increases in deaths.

They are -- and in terms of property damage, we are already looking at $260 million, and this also is expected to increase substantially.

Now, many of the people here, after much of the flood water receded, were left with tons of mud. Making things very much harder for them was the fact that many of the neighborhoods still had no electricity, there was no water, not to mention drinking water.

Many of the roads are still cut off from -- cut off due to the floods and landslides. There are still many neighborhoods who don't have electricity, who are pretty much stranded from the outside world as we speak -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: What is the weather like now, where you are? And in the hardest-hit areas, what is the weather like?

JIE-AE: Well, it is not raining, but today, in the hardest-hit areas, they tell me -- the reports are that it was really very hot, which is actually even more difficult for them to endure today, because of the lack of drinking water.

So it was actually the day after so much water, there was a lack of water and with too much heat. So for them, it was -- for the people in the devastated areas, it was a very tough day -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: You know, Jie-Ae, looking this video, it just doesn't look like there is any way to prepare for a storm like this.

JIE-AE: Oh, there wasn't. The typhoon really came upon this region in very much of a hurry. It was the biggest typhoon they had seen in 40 years, and it came upon almost overnight, so there was very little preparation that the people in this region could do. Many people lost their whole livelihoods overnight, practically -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: Are they asking for aid now in the region there?

JIE-AE: They are trying to, but some of the neighborhoods, because of the telephone lines and the roads have not been reconnected, some of the people really don't even have any way to even ask for help. So at this point, we are looking the numbers of missing, the amount of damage to rise substantially in the days ahead -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, a big story over there. Sohn Jie-Ae, thank you very much for being with us again this morning.

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