This article needs to be updated.(May 2013) |
Date | 19 July, 2012 – 17 September, 2012 |
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Location | North Korea |
Deaths | 330+ killed, 144 injured, 234,000+ homeless |
The 2012 North Korean floods began in mid-July 2012 when Tropical Storm Khanun affected parts of the country, killing at least 88 people and leaving more than 62,000 people homeless. Torrential rains on 29 and 30 July 2012 worsened the situation, causing additional damage and casualties and forcing the government to request international assistance. [1] Severe rainfall also affected the southern region of North Korea in August, killing at least six.
Khanun made landfall in South Korea on 19 July and weakened as it moved over North Korea before dissipating over China. The government on 29 July increased the number of fatalities as a result of flooding caused by Khanun from 8 to 88, with an additional 134 injured. The biggest loss of human life was in two counties of South Pyongan province. At least 62,900 were made homeless by the flooding, while more than 30,000 hectares of land for growing crops were submerged and will add to growing fears of another looming famine in the country. Three hundred public buildings and 60 factories were damaged during the storm. [2]
Torrential rains hit North Korea again on 29 and 30 July, with approximately 442 millimeters (17.4 inches) of rain recorded in Pakchon County of North Phyongan Province during a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. local time 29 July. The rains worsened the flood situation caused by Khanun, destroying railways, roads, bridges and 'many' dwelling houses. The government said many residents in the affected region were left homeless, but no figures have yet been released about damage and casualties. [3]
The North Korean government has asked assistance from resident United Nations agencies, the Red Cross, and European Union Program Support Units. The North Korean government also supported two inter-agency assessment missions in South Pyongan and Kangwon provinces on 31 July. [3] [4]
On 1 August, KCNA announced that North and South Pyongan provinces and Nyongwon county were severely affected by floods, landslides and thunderbolts, which destroyed 4,900 dwellings, submerged 8,530 homes and destroyed or submerged 200 public buildings and factories. [5] KCNA also reported significant damage to coal mining and processing infrastructure in the area. Some 179,000 tonnes of coal were washed away, along with about 200 pieces of equipment at the Kaechon and Tokchon mining complexes. Railways serving the complexes were also damaged. [6] State media reported at least 31 were killed by landslides and lightning, with 16 others missing. [1]
On 4 August, the North Korean government said the death toll from both Khanun and the torrential rains in late July had risen to 169, with around 400 others missing. It said 8,600 houses were destroyed and 44,000 houses were flooded, leaving more than 212,200 people homeless. [7]
Torrential rains hit North Korea again between late 17 August and early 20 August, causing at least six deaths and destroying more than 530 buildings in the southern region of the country. Three people were killed in North Hwanghae Province, three people were also killed in South Phyongan Province, and an unknown number of people were killed in South Hwanghae Province. [8]
In North Korea, heavy rains from the storm triggered significant flooding and many landslides in late August. [9] In South Hamgyong Province, at least 100 homes were flooded by the storm. [10] KCNA reported wind speeds of more than 108 km/h (67 mph) in North and South Hwanghae, South Hamgyong, South Pyongan and the city of Nampho, and waves as high as 1.11 m (3.6 ft) in the sea of Kimchaek. [11] Widespread damage took place throughout the country as a result of the storm. At least 6,700 homes were destroyed and approximately 101,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of crop and rice fields were flooded. Additionally, 16,730 trees were downed and 880 public and industrial buildings were severely damaged. In all, at least 48 people were killed and 21,800 others were left homeless. [12]
Torrential rains from South Korea on 17 September made a landfall that spread beyond the Korean DMZ Zone to North Korea.
South Pyongan Province is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its capital is Pyongsong.
The 1989 Pacific typhoon season was the first of six consecutive years of above-average activity in the Western Pacific. It was an extremely active season spawning 32 tropical storms, 20 typhoons and five super typhoons. It has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1989, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The first storm, Winona, formed on January 15, while the final storm, Jack, dissipated on December 27. This season was also quite a deadly season that were caused by a few notable storms such as Tropical Storm Cecil, which was the worst storm to impact Vietnam in over 50 years, and Typhoon Gay, which directly impacted the Malay Peninsula as the worst typhoon in 35 years. Both of these storms make up around half of the total fatalities of the entire season alone.
Typhoon Rusa was the most powerful typhoon to strike South Korea in 43 years. It was the 21st JTWC tropical depression, the 15th named storm, and the 10th typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season. It developed on August 22 from the monsoon trough in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, well to the southeast of Japan. For several days, Rusa moved to the northwest, eventually intensifying into a powerful typhoon. On August 26, the storm moved across the Amami Islands of Japan, where Rusa left 20,000 people without power and caused two fatalities. Across Japan, the typhoon dropped torrential rainfall peaking at 902 mm (35.5 in) in Tokushima Prefecture.
Flooding in North Korea in July 2006 caused extensive damage and loss of life, although reports differ about its extent.
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Typhoon Kompasu, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Glenda, was a strong tropical cyclone that moved along Okinawa, Japan and west coast of the Korean Peninsula before striking the Seoul Metropolitan Area in early-September 2010. It was the first significant system to directly strike the Seoul Metropolitan since Typhoon Prapiroon in 2000 and the strongest typhoon to directly impact the area since Tropical Storm Janis in 1995.
Typhoon Agnes, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pining, produced among the heaviest rains recorded during the 20th century in South Korea, with 710 mm (28 in) falling over a two-day span. The storm originated as a tropical depression near Guam on August 25, 1981. Moving along a west-northwest to northwest track, the system gradually strengthened as deep convection organized around it. The depression was assigned the name Agnes on August 27 following the development of gale-force winds. Further intensification to typhoon-status occurred by August 29. Agnes attained its peak intensity on August 31 over the East China Sea as a Category 2-equivalent on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale with winds of 175 km/h (109 mph). Subsequent interaction with a mid-latitude trough induced an extratropical transition as the cyclone slowed and turned north. The system had lost most of its tropical characteristics by September 1, with the majority of convection sheared northeast over South Korea and Japan. Agnes later accelerated northeast and completed its transition on September 3. The remnants continued along this course, impacting northern Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula before last being noted on September 6 near the International Date Line.
Typhoon Judy of July 1989 was a strong tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage and loss of life in Japan, South Korea and the eastern Soviet Union. Originating from a monsoon trough on July 21, Judy began as a tropical depression west of the Northern Mariana Islands. Tracking west-northwest, the system gradually intensified into a tropical storm and was given the name Judy on July 23. By this time, the storm had turned due north. Two days later, Judy attained typhoon status as it began a gradual turn to the west-northwest. Late on July 25, the storm peaked with winds of 165 km/h (105 mph). Striking Kyushu on July 27, interaction with the island's mountainous terrain caused Judy to quickly weaken as it neared South Korea. The weakened storm struck the country west of Pusan the following day before losing its identity near the border with North Korea. The remnants of Judy were last noted over the Sea of Japan.
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Between June and August 2020, floods severely impacted large areas of both North and South Korea due to heavy rains of the regional rainy season, primarily in the far southern parts of the Korean Peninsula. These floods are closely related to ones across China and in Kyushu, Japan. As of 9 August 2020, 30 people have died in South Korea as a result.
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula region located over Eastern Asia. The region is divided into North Korea and South Korea.
Korea has historically suffered several floods due to heavy rains, typhoons, and heavy snowfalls. Most of the flood damage was caused by storms and tsunamis caused by typhoons, and floods.
Typhoon Khanun, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Falcon, was a powerful, erratic and long-lived tropical cyclone that moved along Okinawa, Japan and the west coast of the Korean Peninsula in August 2023. It was the sixth named storm and fourth typhoon of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season. Khanun started as a low-pressure area in the Pacific Ocean. It rapidly intensified into a Category 4-equivalent typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson scale over the Philippine Sea on August 1, before undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle. Khanun weakened slightly as it moved closer to the Ryukyu Islands, battering them with heavy rain and strong winds. Khanun began to degrade its eye on satellite imagery due to quasi-stationary and warming cloud tops. Steady weakening continued as Khanun approached the Korean Peninsula and it eventually made landfall on Geojedo in South Korea. The storm dissipated shortly thereafter.