Typhoon Hinnamnor Leaves a Wake of Destruction Across Asia

Posted: September 6, 2022 1:48 pm

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Tropical Cyclone Brings Destruction to Korea and Japan

This week brings news from another front — the Pacific Ocean. Typhoon Hinnamnor formed over the Pacific Ocean and quickly became a Category 4 storm according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. That means wind gusts as high as 185 miles per hour and sustained wind speeds between 130 and 156 miles per hour.

The storm brought major destruction to the islands of Japan and parts of Korea and China. Flooding, power interruptions and powerful winds caused catastrophic damage, which can only be fully determined after the storm dissipates. It remains active at the present time, and the storm made landfall on Tuesday morning in Korea at 4:5 a.m. local time.

Major Flood Damage

The most powerful typhoon or hurricane this year, the storm moved away from Korea. The flooding recorded in Kora, Japan and China has been major, and the results in Korea include:

  • Extensive flooding was recorded in the capital city of Pyongyang.
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced that the country was prepared after suffering deadly flooding recently.
  • Typhoon Hinnamnor dumped more than 24 inches of rain on the country.
  • South Korea delayed trains and canceled some flights.
  • North Korea also faces heavy flood and wind damage.
  • Nuclear power plants and ports were closed.

Korea has a long history of dealing with megafloods. The country dealt first with the flooding from torrential rains in the middle of August. The rain was the most recorded in over a century, and it calls into question the effects of global warming.

An earlier extreme flood resulted in at least 11 deaths that include one child. The Pacific Ocean coastal nations have experienced an intense monsoon season in 2022, and earlier this summer record-setting flooding in Bangladesh forced major evacuations affecting about 7.2 million people. Areas of China were also evacuated in the southwestern and northwestern parts of the country.

Understanding the Difference Between Hurricanes and Typhoons

Typhoons and hurricanes are exactly the same, but hurricanes are the name given to tropical cyclone storms that rise in the Atlantic Ocean, and typhoons are the name given to storms originating in the Pacific Basin. The Saffir-Simpson scale applies equally to hurricanes and typhoons, but Asian countries and Pacific Island nations often use different scales to rate typhoons.

What’s Next for Hinnamnor?

Typhoon Hinnamnor displayed the raw power to cause more widespread damage than it has so far produced. One death was recorded in Korea, and the typhoon left land and headed out to sea at 7:00 a.m. local time headed west at about 38 miles per hour. That course has it headed past Sapporo, Japan, about 9:00 p.m. local time, at a distance of 261 miles away from the city.

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