Twin typhoons threaten northern Asia

Japan and South Korea are bracing for two typhoons expected to hit on Thursday.

The two storms, the 20th and 21st named storms of the West Pacific Typhoon Season, are still strengthening as they head north.

Typhoon Soulik is expected to reach the Korean Peninsula after skirting around Japan’s southern island of Kyushu.

When it makes landfall it is forecast to have winds gusting up to 200 kilometres per hour. Torrential rain is likely to cause flooding and a storm surge threatens to trigger coastal flooding.

Soulik will then begin to disintegrate as it heads across North Korea, a country with chronic economic problems that lacks the resources to cope with severe weather. It is likely North Korea will fare worse from this storm than its neighbour to the south.

Meanwhile, another storm named Cimaron has developed within the last 24 hours. Cimaron is currently a tropical storm with winds gusting to 90 km/h.

The storm is currently strengthening and by the time it makes landfall in Japan’s central Honshu it is expected a typhoon with winds gusting over 165 km/h.

The current forecast track would bring severe weather to the southern parts of Honshu.

There are also concerns the storm could bring flash flooding to the mountainous central region as it moves north across the island.