page_title: Typhoon Maemi
section_title: South Korea
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Maemi / Impact / South Korea
caption_attribution_description: Typhoon Maemi strikes a heavy blow on South Korea in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image captured by the Aqua satellite on 12 September 2003, at 1:55 pm, local time. With sustained winds of 135 miles per hour, the storm was the strongest to hit South Korea since records began. Media reports say that at least 104 people died in the storm. Maemi is the Korean name for a cicada that legend says chirps madly to warn of a coming typhoon.
context_page_description: Typhoon Maemi, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pogi, was the most powerful typhoon to strike South Korea since record-keeping began in the country in 1904. Maemi formed on September 4, 2003 from a disturbance in a monsoon trough in the western Pacific Ocean. It slowly intensified into Tropical Storm Maemi while moving northwestward, becoming a typhoon on September 8. That day, favorable conditions facilitated more rapid strengthening; the storm developed a well-defined eye and reached peak maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h. While near peak intensity, Maemi decelerated and began turning to the north-northeast. Soon after, the eyewall passed over the Japanese island of Miyako-jima on September 10 and produced an air pressure reading of 912 mbar, the fourth-lowest recorded in the nation. Due to warm waters, Maemi was able to maintain much of its intensity before it made landfall just west of Busan, South Korea, on September 12. The typhoon became extratropical in the Sea of Japan the next day, although its remnants persisted for several days, lashing northern Japan with strong winds.
  The typhoon first affected the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.
context_section_description: Since Typhoon Maemi took a path closer to the form of a parabolic, a typical pattern of typhoons from outbreak to extinction, it was relatively possible to predict its course and the possibility of landing on the Korean Peninsula was expected fairly early. The Korea Meteorological Administration officially announced the typhoon's possible landing off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula at 5 p.m. on Sept. 10, making the news widely known through major media organizations. When Typhoon Maemi struck South Korea, it caused heavy rainfall that peaked at 453 mm (17.8 in). Rainfall reached 401.5 mm (15.81 in) in Namhae County, and 255 mm (10.0 in) on Jeju Island. The rain was less widespread and caused less flooding than Typhoon Rusa, which struck the country a year prior, but damage from Maemi was heavier due to strong winds. On Jeju Island, Maemi produced a wind gust of 216 km/h (134 mph) and a minimum pressure of 950 mbar (28 inHg), both setting records for the country. The winds broke the record of 210 km/h (130 mph) set by Typhoon Prapiroon in 2000, and the pressure was 1.5 mbar lower than that during Typhoon Sarah in 1959, which was one of the strongest storms to strike South Korea after Maemi. On the South Korean mainland, the Pusan International Airport reported wind gusts of 143 km/h (89 mph). Winds in Busan reached 154 km/h (96 mph), the second-highest wind speed for the city after Typhoon Thelma in 1987. Due to high winds, five nuclear power plants were shut down automatically, but were ultimately unaffected.
  In South Korea, damage was heaviest in South Gyeongsang Province, where 71 people were killed. Damage was particularly heavy in Busan, as well in as Yecheon, Ulsan, and Daegu. In Busan, strong winds wrecked 11 lifting cranes, each weighing about 900 tons, which injured five people and killed two in one incident. Many shipyards in the region were closed, and initial reports estimated it would take a year to fully reopen the Busan port. The estimated damage to the Busan port was about $50 million (USD), causing cargo capacity to be cut by 20%. High waves turned a large ship on its side in Busan, and in Ulsan the waves knocked an offshore shipbuilding plant into a petroleum facility, damaging them both. Sixteen people were killed in Busan.
  High tides flooded hundreds of houses along the coast, particularly in areas without seawalls. In Masan, the storm caused 12 fatalities when it flooded an underground shopping center. On Jeju Island to the south of the country, Maemi destroyed sets of the Korean drama TV series All In, and wrecked 32 houses. Two people were killed on the island, one of whom while attempting to secure his boat. Throughout the country, 465 boats were damaged or beached. The heavy rainfall caused mudslides, one of which in Chungcheong derailed a train, injuring 28 aboard. Mudslides closed several roads, and damaged five rail lines in ten locations. Nationwide, the storm damaged 2,278 roads and bridges, as well as nearly 40,000 cars. Intense rainfall also caused flooding along the Nakdong River, reaching a flood stage of 5.06 m (16.6 ft) near Busan. There, the river produced a discharge of about 13,000 m³/s (460,000 ft³/s), strong enough to destroy a section of the Gupo bridge. Along a tributary of the Nakdong River, floods destroyed a dyke near Daegu. Maemi also flooded 37,986 ha (93,870 acres) of fields before the fall harvest, causing widespread damage to the rice crop. On Ulleungdo island off the eastern coast, Maemi washed away the primary road and many houses, killing three. Residents there complained about the lack of advance warning.
  Typhoon Maemi left about 1.47 million electric customers without power around the country, causing ₩12.9 billion (KRW, US$11.61 million) in damage to power companies. Widespread damage interrupted mobile and cell phone service. United States military bases in the country sustained about $4.5 million in damage. Nationwide, Maemi destroyed about 5,000 houses and damaged 13,000 homes and businesses, leaving 25,000 people homeless. About 150 businesses in Gang
caption: Typhoon Maemi approaching South Korea on September 12
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