Typhoon Rusa kills over 80 in South Korea

More than 80 people have been killed and 70 are missing after the biggest typhoon to hit South Korea in 40 years.

More than 80 people have been killed and 70 are missing after the biggest typhoon to hit South Korea in 40 years.

Tens of thousands of homes were devastated by floods and landslides as Typhoon Rusa swept through the country over the weekend.

North Korea also reported "huge" damage from the typhoon but did not give any details about casualties.

Up to 23 inches of rain fell in parts of Kangwon and Hwanhae provinces over the weekend, the North's Korean Central News Agency said.

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Officials at the National Disaster Prevention and Countermeasures Headquarters said they were trying to confirm local media reports as many as 180 people might have died.

"This is hell on earth," said Mr Kim Jung-ok, a 54-year-old housewife in Gangneung, as she shovelled mud from the living room of her home. The eastern city of 220,000 people was one of the worst hit by Rusa.

Flood waters rose to waist height in parts after 36 inches of rain fell in 30 hours - the highest in the region since records began.

Officials have begun restoring electricity and phone services, but tens of thousands of people relied on candlelight over the weekend.

PA