Thousands of Scouts from around the Globe currently attending the World’s Jamboree on South Korea’s Coast have been evacuated from their campsites to inland venues on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, ahead of a tropical storm that is forecast to bring intense rains and strong winds to the peninsula within days.
More than 1,000 vehicles are being used to move 37,000 Scouts, mostly teenagers and other volunteers, from the World Scout Jamboree that opened last week in Buan, a county on South Korea’s southwestern coast.
Most of the people will be accommodated in Seoul and the capital’s metropolitan area, where officials have secured university dormitories, government and corporate training centers, and hotels.
Early Tuesday morning, the storm was centered 350 kilometers (217 miles) south of Kagoshima, a city on the southwestern tip of Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu.
Khanun had winds of 108 kph (67 mph) with gusts to 144 kph (89 mph) and was moving slowly north, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
“More than 13,500 scouts will be accommodated at 64 different venues in Gyeonggi province, South Korea’s largest province surrounding Seoul. About 3,100 scouts will stay in Seoul, and another 3,200 will be sent to nearby Incheon.
The Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, Ahmad Alhendawi, said that it is the first time in more than 100 years of World Scout Jamborees that they have had to face such compounded challenges.
(Additional reporting by Skynews)
