Typhoon Kompasu ripped through the Korean Peninsula less than a month after typhoon Dianmu made landfall on the south coast and cut across northern Japan leaving five dead. It was the first time in a decade that multiple typhoons have struck the peninsula in a single year.

"Although we are not being hit by as many typhoons as Japan, the latest examples show that the Korean peninsula is no longer safe," said an official at the Korea Meteorological Administration. The typhoons affecting Korea also seem to be getting more intense.

Trees torn down by typhoon Kompasu block a road in Jamwon-dong, Seoul on Thursday.

The KMA on Thursday said the five strongest typhoons to hit Korea over the last 107 years all occurred after 2000. They were Maemi (2003) with winds of 60 m/s, followed by Prapiroon (2000), Rusa (2002), Kompasu (2010) and Nari (2007).

Experts attribute the growing intensity to climate change, which has led to rising oceanic temperatures. "Climate change has led to a decrease in the number of typhoons, but the prevailing view among scientists is that they are growing more intense," said Oh Jae-ho, a meteorologist at Pukyong National University in Busan.