Typhoon Maemi Strikes South Korea

Date: September 12, 2003 • Location: Dongnae-gu, Korea, Republic of

Typhoon Maemi, the strongest recorded typhoon to strike South Korea, made landfall near Busan. 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. The fourteenth named storm, eighth typhoon and third super typhoon of the 2003 Pacific typhoon season, Maemi developed from a disturbance in a monsoon trough on September 4. It strengthened into Tropical Storm Maemi, named by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Moving northwestward, it became a typhoon on September 8. It briefly crossed into the warning territory of PAGASA, which gave it the local name Pogi. Favorable conditions facilitated more rapid strengthening; the storm developed a well-defined eye and reached peak maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) on September 10. While near peak intensity, Maemi decelerated and began turning to the north-northeast. Soon after, the eyewall passed over Miyako-jima, Japan with a minimum barometric pressure of 912 mbar (26.9 inHg), the fourth-lowest pressure recorded in the nation.