61 Killed by Typhoon Maemi

[Kellanved]

Typhoon Maemi's strong winds and heavy rain have made the southern region of the nation a disaster zone, killing more than 60 people. Combined with this year's heavier-than-normal rain, the typhoon will ensure that the nation's rice harvest will be the worst in 23 years.
Maemi's highest winds were clocked at speeds of up to 60 meters per second. The government's anti-disaster headquarters said that 61 people have been confirmed dead and 42 missing as of 6 p.m. Saturday.

Twenty-three people were killed in South Gyeongsang province, over which the eye of the storm passed. The anti-disaster office also estimated that about 2,000 people were either injured or sustained serious property damage. The casualty figures and damage reports are expected to increase, considering that some reports have been blocked due to power and communication failures.

...
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200309/200309130020.html

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,292464,00.jpg

[phoebe]

1. very bad news

My condolences to those who lost family members.

Sincerely hope that this administration does not "use" this situation to their "advantage" as I suspect they will.. forgive me, but my antennae are up.

[chenGOD]

2. I flew from Tokyo to Incheon today...

it was a little windy but nothing serious. The south always gets hit hard by typhoons and floods, but this one is particularly late in the year.
I didn't think the rain was heavier than normal this year, seemed less than last year.

Terrible for the families though, both for the loss of life and the property damage.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. Not particularly late in the year

September is still very much "typhoon season", at least in Japan.

http://okinawan.jp/typhoon.htm

In fact, the worst set of typhoons to strike the islands in modern times were the two that came within a week of each other in late September 1959.

http://www.chunichi.co.jp/saigai/isewan/

Anyway, here's a pretty nifty animation of the rise and decline of Typhoon Maemi:

http://www.imoc.co.jp/typ/tyani_14.htm

[chenGOD]

4. Well in South Korea...

Monsoon season is usually July to mid-August.

So while it's not VERY late, it's still late enough to throw off crop cycles.

Do you live in the Tokyo area?

If so check out my friends's radio show on J-wave: http://www.j-wave.co.jp/original/nomadcity/

I was on this morning actually, incoherently mumbling things about the "long-term foreign perspective in east Asia"