Typhoon Maysak has caused serious damage to various structures and roads in Hamhung along with the deaths of 13 people, Daily NK has learned.
Sea water flooded a road leading from Hamhung’s Hungnam District to Nakwon County and 13 people travelling on the road died after they were swept away, according to a source in South Hamgyong Province yesterday.
The road stretches from Hungnam to Sinjun and even leads to a villa where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known to stay at. The road was designated as a “No. 1 Road” (a road exclusively for the use of the North Korean leader) 13 years ago and, as such, comes under special management by the authorities.
Motorcycles and bicycles are prohibited from using the stretch of the road from Soho to Majon, which has meant that regular people have to take a longer route to get to their destinations. According to the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, many people simply hand over cash to police officers watching over the road to avoid going the longer route.
“People have said that the typhoon unleashed an explosion of water onto the road, which is not far from the seaside,” the source said. “Police officers have shutdown the stretch of the road from Hungnam to Sinjung following the deaths and are keeping watch over it.”
The typhoon broke windows at apartments near the road and plants and other items on balconies were thrown downwards by the winds, sometimes hitting people in the head. The source said that people injured by the flying objects were seen lined up at a local hospital.
Local authorities belatedly sent out a vehicle with loudspeakers to warn local residents to quickly find shelter. Many people were unable to hear the speakers because of the typhoon’s strong winds and rain, the source said.
“Around 80 fisheries, including the Soho Fisheries Company and the Naval University Fishery, brought in all their boats from the sea following news of the typhoon and tied them up at their wharfs,” the source further reported. According to him, wooden boats crashed against seawalls, tearing them completely apart, and pieces of the boats have either been pulled out to sea by the waves or are just floating in the water.
Windows and doors at stores in the Majon Bathing Resort were also seriously damaged by the typhoon, according to the source.
The source also speculated that there has been a lot of damage to Kim’s seaside villa and the villas used by military officers nearby.
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