Sep 1, 2002 3 min read

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Typhoon Rusa caused floods and landslides across South Korea on Saturday, killing at least three people after whipping up waves that swept away two U.S. Marines in Japan. Five others were missing in southern South Korea after being carried away by floodwaters, while rescuers in the east were trying to reach people trapped inside 10 cars buried in a mudslide.

The two Marines were pulled under by waves Friday night after they went out to watch the stormy surf on the Japanese island of Okinawa, said Japanese coast guard official Yasuhiro Arasaki. The typhoon only brushed Japan, but still brought strong winds and sheets of rain. Arasaki identified the missing Marines as Lance Cpls. Richard Moore, 24, and Beatriz Rodriguez, 20. A third Marine, Sgt. Thomas Gordinier, 22, swam to shore and suffered only minor cuts. Arasaki did not know their hometowns.

Okinawa, about 1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo, is home to more than half the 47,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan.

In South Korea, two people were killed in the south coast town of Keochang when strong winds sent a heavy sign post crashing down on their car, the National Disaster Prevention and Countermeasure Headquarters said.

A 43-year-old woman was found dead and another woman remained missing after falling into a rain-swollen stream in another coastal town, Kohung.

In Korea’s east coast city of Gangreung, about 150 miles east of Seoul, torrential rains hampered the rescue efforts of police trying to reach people who were trapped in at least 10 cars buried in a landslide on a highway. “We know there are several cars buried in the mud, but we can hardly make any progress because it still is raining heavily. The ground is loose and we fear more landslides in the area,” said police Sgt. Kim Jin.

Rusa, the Malaysian word for deer, dumped about 16 inches of rain in Gangreung on Saturday.

As police sirens wailed, 3,000 villagers in the region evacuated to schools after three reservoirs upstream swelled with rain water. Hundreds of homes were submerged. TV footage showed cars carried away by flash floods. Roads and a rail line were buried by landslides.

The typhoon was moving through South Korea with sustained winds of 84 miles per hour, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

Up to 26 inches of rain has poured down on parts of Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju since Friday. Moored ships were overturned by high waves.

Winds broke windows, ripped up trees and lamp posts, and knocked out electricity to 60,000 homes on the island. Authorities closed all primary and middle schools there. Flights and ferries were canceled, stranding 5,000 tourists on the island.

Authorities also closed airports in most southern cities.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency forecast that Rusa would bring up to 12 inches of rain to parts of the Japanese island of Kyushu by late Saturday, and possibly another eight inches by midday Sunday.

The agency also warned of possible mudslides, flooding and high waves in southern Japan.