Typhoon Kompasu struck central and west coastal areas in South Korea early Thursday, causing flight cancellations, power outages, and damaging houses and trees.

Domestic and international flights were canceled and school classes were postponed two hours as the typhoon drew near.

Many trees planted along the streets were uprooted causing traffic jams. Massive power outages also disrupted subway lines and some people had to spend the night without electricity.

Near the west coastal areas, strong winds and high waves threatened ships in the sea, but no major damages were reported yet.

In Seosan, an 80-year-old man was killed after being hit by a roof tile picked up by the strong wind.

Two more people were reported dead and it's likely the death toll will rise.

Meteorologists say Kompasu, which means “compass” in Japanese, is the strongest storm to hit the South in 15 years.

According to tropical storm risk forecasters, Kompasu was whipping up winds of up to 86 miles per hour, but was likely to weaken to a tropical storm by Friday.