Typhoons in the Korean Peninsula


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. This article includes any tropical cyclone of any intensity that affected the Korean Peninsula.

20th century

Pre-1980s

1980s

1990s

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 of rain was recorded over a 48-hour period; this two-day total was over three times the August average for the location.
  • 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 of rainfall.
  • 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 of rainfall at Hallasan in Jeju Province in South Korea. The storm also caused seas.
  • 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 on the offshore island of Ulleungdo. On the mainland, Pohang recorded of rainfall over 24 hours.
  • August 8, 2005 ― The remnants of Typhoon Matsa produced moderate amounts of rainfall reaching in Masan.
  • 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 in the port city of Busan.
  • 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 on Jeju Island. Along with strong winds, the rains caused ferry and flight cancelations.
  • 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, 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.
  • September 17–18, 2007 ― Typhoon Shanshan and its outer outflow brought heavy rainfall over southeastern Korea. Busan had reported 60 mm of rainfall at that time.
  • 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. 20 people were killed. Jeju Island was declared a national disaster area by the South Korean government.
  • 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.
  • July 22, 2008 ― The remnants of Typhoon Kalmaegi produced heavy rains over the Korean Peninsula, peaking at 237.5 mm in Seoul. Heavy flooding killed four people.
  • August 12, 2009 ― The remnants of Typhoon Morakot brought rainfall over the Korean Peninsula.

2010s

2020s

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.
RankNameYearNumber of Deaths
1"1936 Korea typhoon"19361,516
2[Typhoon Typhoon Sarah (1959)|Sarah (1959)|Sarah]1959669
3Lionrock2016525
4Rusa2002236
5Ewiniar2006203
6Thelma1987123
7Maemi2003117
8Olga1999106
9Gladys199190
10Khanun201289