Newsweek: Super typhoon Hinnamnor could slam straight into nuclear power plant

The most powerful storm in South Korean history is due to collide with a nuclear power plant.

Newsweek reports citing the South Korea Meteorological Administration that Super Typhoon Hinnamnor is due to hit on September 6 and may cause multiple casualties.

Kori Nuclear Power Plant, which is in the oncoming path of the Category 5 storm near to industrial city Ulsan, has lowered the run rates of three of its nuclear reactors to less than 30 percent in preparation for the typhoon, according to EnergyVoice.

"We're now entering a phase where we have to minimize casualties," Han Sang Un, the chief forecaster at Korea Meteorological Administration, said during a briefing on September 5.

"It's a massive typhoon with a 400-kilometer (248.5 miles) radius, which is big enough to cover Seoul to Busan. Most regions in Korea will experience intense rain and wind," he said.

Typhoon Sarah, which hit South Korea in 1959, and Typhoon Maemi, which hit in 2003, are thought to be two of the most powerful storms in the nation's history. Hinnamnor is forecasted to be potentially more powerful. As of September 5, the storm has wind speeds of 127 miles per hour (mph) with gusts around 155 mph, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

"Super typhoons are defined as a typhoon in the NW Pacific Ocean basin with 1-minute sustained winds of at least 130 kts (150 mph), which is equivalent to a strong Category 4 or Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale," Dr. Adam Lea, a senior research associate in hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones for University College London's Department of Space & Climate Physics, told Newsweek.

"The overall diameter of the storm can be hundreds of km but the very damaging winds are confined to a much smaller region surrounding the eye called the eye wall, which is a ring of thunderstorms surrounding the eye where the most extreme conditions occur. This area typically extends to 100km [around 60 miles] from the eye. Hinnamnor is one of the larger typhoons with typhoon force winds extending up to around 140km [around 85 miles] from the center."