Heavy rain and strong winds cancel some ferries across Jeju Island

Heavy rainfall across Jeju Island has forced the cancellation of some ferry services.

The Jeju Regional Office of the Korea Meteorological Administration said Saturday that up to 139 millimeters of rain had fallen on Hallasan, with heavy precipitation recorded across the island.

Heavy rain advisories were issued for mountainous areas of Jeju Island and the mid-mountain and eastern parts of Jeju, as well as the mid-mountain, southern and eastern parts of Seogwipo. Gale advisories were issued for the Jeju Island mainland and Chujado.

The KMA warned vessels at sea to exercise extreme caution, saying very strong winds and waves of up to 5 meters or more were expected off the Jeju coast from Saturday night, with the possibility of the current advisory being upgraded to a wave warning.

The agency also advised the public to stay away from coastal areas, warning that high waves were crashing over rocky shores and breakwaters in some locations.

Cumulative rainfall recorded from Friday through 8 a.m. Saturday at key locations on Hallasan included 139 mm at Witseoreum, 126.5 mm at Samgakbong, 121 mm at Sajebi, 118 mm at Jindallaebaht, 109 mm at Seongpanak, and 108.5 mm at Yeongsil.

Along the coast, Pyoseon-myeon in Seogwipo recorded the highest rainfall at 113 mm, followed by Seongsan at 106.2 mm, Daeheul at 97.5 mm, Gimnyeong at 95.5 mm, Seogwipo at 95.1 mm, Sangye at 91.5 mm, Gosan at 59.6 mm and Hallim at 49 mm.

Heavy rain warnings are expected to remain in effect through Sunday, with rainfall forecast at 20 to 30 millimeters per hour.

Despite the gale advisory in effect over Jeju, all flights are currently operating normally.

Of the 10 ferry routes connecting Jeju to other parts of the country, the Songlim Blue Ocean, which travels via Chujado to Wando, and the Santa Monica, bound for Jindo, were canceled.

The Queen Nubia 2 to Mokpo, the Ocean Vista Jeju to Samcheonpo, the Silver Cloud to Wando, the Araon Jeju to Nokdong and the Hanil Gold Stella to Wando all suspended operations, while the Queen Nubia on the Mokpo route entered scheduled maintenance.

The Hanil Gold Stella departing for Wando at 8:40 a.m. and the Queen Mary bound for Mokpo at 4:45 p.m. Saturday are operating as normal.

The KMA said winds exceeding 20 meters per second were expected to continue over land through Monday morning, urging residents to secure outdoor fixtures such as signboards and vinyl greenhouses and to take precautions to protect crops.