Typhoons in the Korean Peninsula explained

The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula region located over Eastern Asia. The region is divided into North Korea and South Korea.

Climatologically, in the Northwest Pacific basin, most tropical cyclones tend to develop between May and October. Typhoons impacting this region are not uncommon, with the bulk of these storms doing so in the third quarter (July to September). This article includes any tropical cyclone of any intensity that affected the Korean Peninsula.

20th century

Pre-1980s

• August 28, 1936 – a typhoon struck South Korea, killing 1,104 people.^[1]
• July 10, 1939 – a typhoon struck the western coast of North Korea.^[2]
• July 12, 1940 – local newspapers reported a typhoon that struck the city of Seoul, killing 52 people.^[3]
• July 23, 1940 – a typhoon moved across much of the Korean Peninsula.^[3]
• August 4, 1945 – Tropical Storm Eva moved northwards affecting much of peninsula before dissipating.
• August 19–20, 1946 – as a weakening storm, Tropical Storm Lilly made landfall over South Korea and affected much of the peninsula.

1980s

• August 28, 1986 ― Typhoon Vera made landfall near the Kunsan Air Base in South Korea. Nationwide, a total of 1,852 structures were damaged, which resulted in over 6,000 people being homeless.
• July 15, 1987 ― Typhoon Thelma strikes South Korea and moves northward. Rainfall across the nation varied, but peaked at 270mm in Kangnung. In all, 123 people died from the typhoon.
• August 2–3, 1987 ― Tropical Depression Alex moves over North Korea. The storm deluged the country with up to 300 mm (12 in) of rainfall in a single day.
• August 30–31, 1987 ― Typhoon Dinah nears the southeastern coast of South Korea without making landfall, however the typhoon brought strong winds and rainfall, with a peak rainfall total of 300 mm (11.8 in) being measured in South Chungcheong Province. 33 people died from the typhoon.
• July 28–29, 1989 ― Tropical Storm Judy made landfall to the west of Busan. Heavy rains from the storm exacerbated ongoing floods, leading to at least 20 fatalities.
• September 17, 1989 ― The remnant low of Tropical Storm Vera passed by the Korean Peninsula.

1990s

• July 12, 1990 ― Tropical Storm Robyn passes by the southern coast of South Korea before dissipating.

• September 1, 1990 ― Tropical Storm Abe brought heavy rain and gale-force winds to South Korea prior to transitioning to an extratropical cyclone near the east coast of the peninsula.^[4]
• July 29–30, 1991 ― Typhoon Caitlin, while nearing the region, had typhoon warnings across much of South Korea. Caitlin triggered torrential rainfall that only killed two people.
• August 22–23, 1991 ― Tropical Storm Gladys passes by South Korea bringing heavy rainfall. During a 24-hour period in Ulsan, 16.4abbr=onNaNabbr=on of rain fell, the most ever recorded on record.^[5] 90 people died from the storm.
• September 27, 1991 ― The outer rain bands of Typhoon Mireille, the costliest typhoon at the time (and the costliest typhoon on record, if inflation is taken into account), brought rainfall and rough seas in South Korea, which killed two people.
• September 24, 1992 ― Tropical Storm Ted made landfall over the western portion of South Korea before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone.
• August 10, 1993 ― Typhoon Robyn brought rough seas up to 6.1to along the southeastern coast of South Korea. Roughly 45 people were killed by the typhoon.
• July 27, 1994 ― Tropical Depression Walt neared the southern coast of South Korea and Jeju Island. It is said that rainfall across the country helped improve severe drought conditions.^[6]
• July 31–August 1, 1994 ― Tropical Storm Brendan traversed the central part of the Korean Peninsula, also reliving drought conditions at that time.
• August 9–10, 1994 ― Tropical Storm Doug neared the southwestern coast of South Korea, bringing gusty winds of about 64 mph (103 km/h).^[7]
• October 11, 1994 ― Typhoon Seth batters most of South Korea with gusty winds of heavy rainfall.
• July 23–24, 1995 ― Typhoon Faye impacts the Korean Peninsula as a moderate typhoon. Rough wave in Pusan Harbor resulted in two ships colliding.^{[8] [9]}
• August 26, 1995 ― Tropical Storm Janis made landfall near Seoul and affects most of the region with mostly heavy rainfall.
• August 8–9, 1997 ― Typhoon Tina closes by Jeju Island, but also impacts South Korea.
• September 28–30, 1998 ― Typhoon Yanni brings a tremendous amount of rainfall that killed 50 people.
• July 27–28, 1999 ― Tropical Storm Neil affects South Korea. There were wind gusts of up to 95 km/h (60 mph) on Cheju Island and the peak rainfall reported from the storm was over 200 mm (8 inches).^[10] As the storm dissipated over Korea, it caused flash floods that killed at least seven and left 7,000 homeless.^[11]
• August 3, 1999 ― Typhoon Olga impacts the Korean Peninsula. 106 people have been killed due to torrential rainfall that led to landslides, along with strong winds.
• September 19, 1999 ― Tropical Storm Ann brought moderate rain of up to 100 mm (4 inches) to Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong on September 18.^[12]
• September 22–23, 1999 ― Typhoon Bart and its outflow brought rainfall over South Korea.

21st century

2000s

• July 10, 2000 ― The remnant low of Typhoon Kai-tak nears and affects North Korea by bringing light to moderate rainfall.
• July 31, 2000 ― Tropical Storm Bolaven affects Busan, South Korea by bringing heavy rainfall.
• August 26–27, 2000 ― The weakening remnant system of Typhoon Bilis caused torrential precipitation across South Korea. At Kunsan Air Base, 468 mm (18.42 in) of rain was recorded over a 48-hour period; this two-day total was over three times the August average for the location.^[13]
• September 1, 2000 ― Typhoon Prapiroon makes landfall over North Korea and kills roughly 65 people.

• September 13–16, 2000 ― Typhoon Saomai brought heavy rainfall and strong winds that caused power outages to 422,000 homes.
• July 6–8, 2002 ― Tropical Storm Rammasun passes a short distance to the west of Jeju Island before making landfall near the Seoul Metropolitan Area. The storm dropped more than 300 mm (12 in) of rainfall.^[14]
• July 27, 2002 ― Tropical Storm Fengshen passes just close off Jeju Island.
• August 31, 2002 ― Typhoon Rusa made landfall over Goheung, South Korea. It was the most powerful typhoon to strike the country in 43 years. 233 people died there, with an extra three from North Korea.
• June 19, 2003 ― Typhoon Soudelor dropped about 500mm of rainfall at Hallasan in Jeju Province in South Korea. The storm also caused 4m (13feet) seas.^[15]
• September 11–12, 2003 ― Typhoon Maemi impacts Korea as a strong typhoon. It was one of the most powerful typhoons to strike South Korea. 117 people have died from the typhoon.
• July 4, 2004 ― The extratropical remnants of Typhoon Mindulle affected the peninsula bringing rainfall and strong winds.
• August 17–19, 2004 ― Typhoon Megi brought heavy rainfall over South Korea. The heaviest 24‑hour rain total was 332.5 mm in Wando.
• September 6–7, 2004 ― The outskirts of the typhoon dropped heavy rainfall in South Korea, with a peak 24‑hour total of 112mm on the offshore island of Ulleungdo. On the mainland, Pohang recorded 110.5mm of rainfall over 24 hours.^[16]
• August 8, 2005 ― The remnants of Typhoon Matsa produced moderate amounts of rainfall reaching 229mm in Masan.^[17]
• September 6–7, 2005 ― Typhoon Nabi nears the eastern portion of South Korea, bringing record rainfall in Ulsan and Pohang. The periphery of the storm produced gusts of 121 km/h (75 mph) in the port city of Busan.^[18]
• May 19, 2006 ― The trough that engulfed the remnant low of Chanchu drew moisture from the typhoon, leading to heavy rainfall in portions of South Korea that reached 144mm on Jeju Island. Along with strong winds, the rains caused ferry and flight cancelations.^[19]
• July 9–10, 2006 ― Typhoon Ewiniar hits the Korean Peninsula. Severe flooding and several landslides occurred. Damages throughout the country amounted to ₩2.06 trillion (US$1.4 billion),^[20] while there has been roughly 203 people who have been killed - with most coming from North Korea.
• August 18–20, 2006 ― Tropical Storm Wukong brushed the eastern coast of South Korea, producing heavy rainfall.^[21]
• September 17–18, 2007 ― Typhoon Shanshan and its outer outflow brought heavy rainfall over southeastern Korea. Busan had reported 60 mm (2 inches) of rainfall at that time.^[22]
• September 16–17, 2007 ― Typhoon Nari made landfall over South Korea, bringing torrential rainfall. The hardest hit area was Jeju Island, where rainfall amounted to a record 590 mm (23.2 in).^[23] 20 people were killed.^[24] Jeju Island was declared a national disaster area by the South Korean government.^[25]
• September 20–21, 2007 ― The remnant low of Typhoon Wipha affected the Korean Peninsula, with most of its effects seen in North Korea, where their flooding has worsened. A total of 1,649 people were left homeless following the storm.^[26]
• July 22, 2008 ― The remnants of Typhoon Kalmaegi produced heavy rains over the Korean Peninsula, peaking at 237.5 mm (9.3 in) in Seoul. Heavy flooding killed four people.
• August 12, 2009 ― The remnants of Typhoon Morakot brought rainfall over the Korean Peninsula.^[27]

2010s

• August 11, 2010 ― Tropical Storm Dianmu made landfall over the southern coast of South Korea. Heavy rainfall was mostly experienced.
• September 1, 2010 ― Typhoon Kompasu struck the Seoul Metropolitan Area as a Category 1 typhoon. Heavy rainfall and gusty winds were experienced, which caused widespread traffic delays in Seoul.
• September 6–8, 2010 ― Tropical Storm Malou nears the southeastern coast of South Korea.
• September 11, 2010 ― The extratropical remnants of Tropical Storm Meranti passed by South Korea.
• June 26, 2011 ― Tropical Storm Meari nears the southwestern coast of the peninsula. Heavy rainfall and rough seas were seen. The storm contributed in bringing rainfall that occurred for six consecutive days in Seoul.^[28]
• August 7–8, 2011 ― Typhoon Muifa batters the western portion of the region. The storm's fierce winds led to cancellation of several flights, power outages and fallen trees.
• July 19, 2012 ― Tropical Storm Khanun impacts the peninsula, dumping heavy precipitation. Heavy flooding was experienced due to some dams discharging water. Losses across the country were at ₩1.5 billion (US$11.4 million).^[29]
• August 1, 2012 ― Typhoon Damrey passes just to the south of Jeju Island.
• August 28–29, 2012 ― Typhoon Bolaven brings wind gusts of up to 186 km/h (116 mph) in some areas. North Korea received a total of 59 deaths.
• August 30, 2012 ― Tropical Storm Tembin made landfall over South Jeolla Province. Some areas received up to 150mm of rain, leading to several landslides.^[30]
• September 16–18, 2012 ― Typhoon Sanba impacts the Korean Peninsula as a strong typhoon. Numerous structures along rivers were damaged or destroyed by flooding. Across the nation, four people were killed and the damage from the typhoon reached ₩365.7 billion (US$328 million).^[31]
• August 29–30, 2013 ― The outer rain bands of Tropical Storm Kong-rey brought light rainfall over Jeju.
• October 8–9, 2013 ― Typhoon Danas nears South Korea bringing gusty winds. Damages in Jeju Island were at ₩245 million (US$228,000).^[32]
• July 9, 2014 ― Typhoon Neoguri affects Jeju Island with the closing of some schools parks.^[33]
• July 26, 2014 ― The remnant low of Typhoon Matmo brings rainfall over Seoul, South Korea.^[34]
• August 1–4, 2014 ― Tropical Storm Nakri brings record-breaking rainfall over the southern provinces of South Korea. Gusty winds were experienced in Jeju.
• September 25, 2014 ― The extratropical low of Tropical Storm Fung-wong brushes the southern coast of South Korea.
• July 12–13, 2015 ― A weakened Tropical Storm Chan-hom hits Ongjin Peninsula in North Korea. Jeju Island recorded precipitation of 1250mm.
• July 26, 2015 ― Before its dissipation, Tropical Depression Halola nears Busan, where gusty winds of 93 km/h (58 mph) was recorded in Chinhae Naval Base.

• August 11, 2015 ― The extratropical remnants of Typhoon Soudelor brought locally heavy rain to parts of South Korea, with accumulations reaching 25to.^[35]
• August 24–25, 2015 ― Typhoon Goni brings heavy rainfall throughout most of South Korea and North Korea. Flooding in North Korea killed 40 people.
• August 31 – September 15, 2016 – The remnants of Typhoon Lionrock hit North Korea, causing widespread flooding that led to the deaths of at least 525 people. This made Lionrock the deadliest typhoon to strike the Korean Peninsula since Typhoon Sarah 57 years prior.^{[36] [37]}
• October 7, 2016 ― Typhoon Chaba impacted South Korea with rainfall. Ulsan and Busan experienced flooding,^[38] while Jeju Island established a new rainfall rate.^[39]
• August 15, 2018 ― The remnant low of Tropical Depression Leepi affected the southeastern portion of South Korea.
• August 23–24, 2018 ― Typhoon Soulik batters the Korean Peninsula. 86 people were killed by the typhoon.^[40]
• October 5–6, 2018 ― Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall in Tongyeong City, Gyeongsangnam-do. Busan and Jeju experienced the worst effects, suffering from severe flooding and power outages.
• July 19–21, 2019 ― Tropical Storm Danas made landfall over North Jeolla Province, South Korea. Stormy conditions were in place in most of South Korea.
• August 6–7, 2019 ― Typhoon Francisco nears the eastern coast of the peninsula, producing rainfall the most along the east coast, peaking at 190mm at Seoraksan.^[41]
• September 7, 2019 – Typhoon Lingling hits the western coast of North Korea. Power outages were seen in many areas and damages in the region were toppled to ₩28.76 billion (US$24.1 million).^{[42] [43]}
• September 21, 2019 ― A weakening Tropical Storm Tapah nears Jeju Island and southeastern South Korea bringing gusty winds. Damage in South Korea were at ₩2.96 billion (US$2.48 million).^{[44] [45]}
• October 2–3, 2019 ― Tropical Storm Mitag traverses South Korea, bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds.

2020s

• August 5–6, 2020 ― The extratropical low of the former Typhoon Hagupit dumped heavy rainfall towards the Korean Peninsula. Up to 5.7 inches (145 mm) of rain was reported in the South Korean city of Suwon.^[46] A landslide there killed six people.
• August 10, 2020 ― Tropical Storm Jangmi made landfall over the Gyeongsang Province of South Korea. The storm dropped up to 2.6 inches (66.04 mm) of precipitation, in an area already hard hit by flooding in the months previous to Jangmi.^{[47] [48]}
• August 26–27, 2020 ― Typhoon Bavi caused widespread structural damage and flooding over North Korea. Five people were swept away from rough seas in Jeju Island.
• September 3, 2020 ― Typhoon Maysak struck the Gyeongsang Province, bringing torrential rainfall and gusty winds.
• September 7, 2020 ― The last of three consecutive typhoons to hit the region, Typhoon Haishen brought widespread flooding and gusty winds. Total damage along with Typhoon Maysak were calculated at ₩606.3 billion (US$510 million).^[49]
• August 24, 2021 – Tropical Depression Omais brushes the southern provinces of South Korea, bringing heavy downpour which caused minor effects.^[50]
• September 6, 2022 - Typhoon Hinnamnor made landfall over Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.^[51]

Deadly storms

The following list are the ten most deadly storms that impacted the Korean Peninsula. Total number of deaths recorded are only from the country itself.

Rank	Name	Year	Number of Deaths
1		1936	1,516
2		1959	669
3		2016	525
4		2002	236
5		2006	203
6		1987	123
7		2003	117
8		1999	106
9		1991	90
10		2012	89

See also

• Typhoon
• Pacific typhoon season

Notes and References

1. Web site: Top 25 Natural Disasters in Republic of Korea according to Number of Killed(1901-2000) . 2024-02-07.
2. Web site: Bernard F. Doucette. 1939. Additional Report on Typhoons and Depressions over the Far East: July 1939. United States Weather Bureau. 2007-01-06.
3. Web site: Bernard F. Doucette. 1940. Typhoons and Depressions over the Far East: July 1940. United States Weather Bureau. 2014-05-23.
4. News: Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet. The World. September 8, 1990. June 4, 2015.
5. News: At Least 60 Dead, Dozens Missing as Typhoon Lashes South Korea. Associated Press. August 24, 1991.
6. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Super Typhoon Walt. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
7. News: From this wreckage on a Korean runway, all 160 passengers and crew escaped. The Independent. August 11, 1994. May 19, 2013.
8. Web site: AT LEAST 13 DIE AS TYPHOON FAYE FLAILS S. KOREA. Deseret News. Associated Press. July 24, 1995. November 15, 2020.
9. World's Deadliest Storms. Television special. United States. Nash Entertainment. 1999. November 15, 2020. YouTube.
10. Web site: Tropical Storm Neil (09W). Joint Typhoon Warning Center. 48. 2013-08-19. 1999 Annual Tropical Cyclone Report.
11. News: Earthweek - A Diary of the Planet. Newman, Steve. 1999-08-06. 2007-02-18. CNN.
12. Web site: Weekly Global Climate Highlights . Climate Prediction Center . 1999-09-18 . 2007-02-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061011031036/http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/GLOB_CLIM/archives/1999/09-18-1999.html . 2006-10-11 . National Centers for Environmental Prediction . live .
13. Web site: Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary August 2000. Australiansevereweather.com. 3 January 2014. Padgett, Gary. August 2000.
14. News: Ted Anthony. Storm sweeps China's east coast, killing five people in migrant-worker village. 2002-07-05. Associated Press.
15. News: Kim So-young. Korea Herald. 2003-06-20. Heavy rain soaks southern region.
16. Web site: Kevin Boyle. Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary August 2004. 2005-05-17. 2015-09-19.
17. Web site: Gary Padgett. 2005. Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary August 2005. 2007-04-15.
18. News: Nabi Hits the Peninsula, Causing Damages. September 7, 2005. Jin Hyun-joo. The Korea Herald.
19. News: Chung Ah-young. The Korea Times. 2006-05-20. Heavy Rain Hits South.
20. Web site: Korean Information Service. ReliefWeb. August 12, 2006. October 6, 2013. ROK : 21 more areas declared special disaster zones.
21. Web site: The Great Red Comet. Typhoon No. 10 Slams Into Japan. August 16, 2006. February 17, 2009.
22. News: Typhoon Forecast to Hit South Korea This Weekend. 2006-09-16. 2006-11-26. KBS News. https://web.archive.org/web/20070929133709/http://english.kbs.co.kr/news/newsview_sub.php?menu=6&key=2006091609. 2007-09-29. dead.
23. Web site: Gary Padgett. Typhoon 2000. February 13, 2008. February 17, 2009. Monthly Tropical Weather Summary for September 2007.
24. Web site: Swiss Re. Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2007. 2008. February 17, 2009.
25. Web site: Yoon Won-sup . The Korean Times. September 20, 2007 . February 17, 2009 . Jeju Designated Disaster Area . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110522223720/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/09/113_10584.html . May 22, 2011 .
26. Web site: ReliefWeb. December 4, 2007. March 3, 2009. DPR Korea: Floods.
27. News: Review of the 2008 Typhoon Season Annual publications: Republic of Korea. Korea Meteorological Agency. 2009-01-11. 2008.
28. Web site: 방재안전관리연구센터. June 30, 2011. December 4, 2011. 제5호 태풍 메아리[Meari]의 특징].
29. Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report Impact Forecasting—2012 . AON . 24 January 2013 . 1 August 2013.
30. Web site: The Bangkok Post. August 30, 2012. August 30, 2012. Second typhoon pounds S. Korea, kills two.
31. News: . August 19, 2018 . August 19, 2018 . ko:강한 태풍 '솔릭' 한반도 접근 중...'관통하는 태풍'은 6년 만 . https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/08/19/2018081900517.html . ko .
32. News: http://m.news.zum.com/articles/11075938. ko:제주 태풍 '다나스' 피해 2억4천500만원 추산. ZUM. October 9, 2013. October 10, 2013.
33. News: Damage Reported as Typhoon Neoguri Hits Jeju. Haps Magazine. July 9, 2014. July 11, 2014.
34. Web site: AccuWeather. July 26, 2014. July 27, 2014. Tropical Rainstorm Matmo to Impact Japan. https://web.archive.org/web/20140808164118/http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/tropical-rainstorm-matmo-to-im-1/30995335. August 8, 2014. dead.
35. Web site: Alex Sosnowski. AccuWeather. August 11, 2015. August 11, 2015. Soudelor Brings Heavy Rain to Japan.
36. October 6, 2016. Global Catastrophe Recap September 2016. Aon Benfield. 15. September 28, 2024. October 19, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161019141222/http://thoughtleadership.aonbenfield.com/Documents/20161006-ab-analytics-if-september-global-recap.pdf. dead.
37. Rescuers struggle to reach flood-hit communities in DPRK as humanitarian needs increase. International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies. September 12, 2016. September 28, 2024. ReliefWeb.
38. News: Typhoone Chaba batters South Korea leaving hundreds homeless and seven dead . Wheeler, Alex . 7 October 2016 . International Business Times . 7 October 2016.
39. News: Typhoon Chaba Sets New Records . Hong, Jun-ki . 6 October 2016 . . 7 October 2016.
40. News: Hamish Macdonald. Dozens dead, tens of thousands displaced by flooding in North Korea: UN. NK News. September 3, 2018. October 3, 2018. October 21, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181021224406/https://www.nknews.org/2018/09/dozens-dead-tens-of-thousands-displaced-by-flooding-in-north-korea-un/. live.
41. News: Korean. August 7, 2019. August 21, 2019. 설악산 190mm 비…강원 영동 100mm 이상 폭우 예상(종합). Yonhap News Agency.
42. News: https://www.hankyung.com/politics/article/201909175201Y. ko:태풍 '링링' 전남지역 피해액 101억원 잠정 집계. Korean. The Korea Economic Daily. September 17, 2019. September 19, 2019.
43. News: http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/09/20/2019092001902.html. ko:13호 태풍 '링링'으로 71억원 피해 본 인천 강화군…특별재난지역 선포. Korean. The Chosun Ilbo. September 20, 2019. September 21, 2019.
44. News: http://tk.newdaily.co.kr/site/data/html/2019/09/24/2019092400229.html. ko:포항시, 태풍 '타파' 13억6100만원 피해. ko. News Daily. September 25, 2019. September 25, 2019.
45. News: 문 . 서현. http://www.jejudomin.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=116653. ko:제17호 태풍 타파 재난지원금 109억 잠정집계. ko. News Daily. October 8, 2019. October 10, 2019.
46. Web site: 3 dead, 3 still missing after boats capsize amid severe flooding in South Korea.
47. Web site: Tropical Storm Jangmi continues flood threat for South Korea, Japan. Accuweather. August 12, 2020. August 20, 2020. Courtney Spamer.
48. Web site: South Korea floods, landslides kill dozens, displace thousands. August 9, 2020. August 20, 2020. Al Jazeera.
49. News: https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?lang=k&Seq_Code=365482. ko:정부, 태풍 '마이삭'·'하이선' 피해 복구비 6천63억원 확정. KBS World. September 29, 2020. September 29, 2020. Korean.
50. Web site: Typhoon Omais leaves behind flooded homes, damaged roads, railways in S. Korea. August 24, 2014. The Korea Herald.
51. Web site: 2022-09-06 . Typhoon Hinnamnor makes landfall, thousands evacuate to safety . https://web.archive.org/web/20220906051212/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/09/371_335627.html . September 6, 2022 . 2022-09-06 . . en.