Typhoon strands 15,000 in South Korea

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SEOUL, Sept 16 (AFP): A powerful typhoon accompanied by heavy rain grounded 280 flights and stranded 15,000 passengers on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, officials said.
The weather office, which is expecting Typhoon Nari to hit the mainland early Monday, said the storm had brought more than 200 millimetres (eight inches) of rain to Jeju.
"All flights coming in and out of Jeju -- 240 domestic flights and 40 international flights-have been cancelled," Han Kum-Hyun, an official at Jeju airport, told AFP. "Some 15,000 air passengers have been stranded."
More than 3,000 vessels remained harboured at ports around Jeju Sunday as local martime authorities banned all ferries and fishing boats from operating. Weathermen forecast up to 300 millimetres of rain in the southwest until Monday morning.