Abstract
Typhoon MAEMI crashed into South Korea's southern provinces before dawn on Sept. 14, 2003, bringing record winds of 215 kilometers per hour, or 135 miles per hour, and heavy rains that caused landslides and floods. Trains were derailed, ships were battered and 1.5 million people were plunged into darkness after five nuclear power stations were forced to suspend operations. The storm tore into southern parts of the peninsula on Friday night (Sept. 12, 2003), crunching everything in its path before heading out to sea on Saturday (Sept. 13, 2003). The typhoon mauled South Korea's main port, Busan, one of Asia's busiest. The typhoon twisted container cranes like pretzel shapes, shredded seaside shops, overturned cars, and buckled roads and bridges. Electric signs showered sparks over pedestrians hunched under blown-out umbrellas on flooded streets. Most of the deaths were due to electrocution, landslides and drowning. Tidal waves heaved an evacuated cruise liner onto its side on a beach in Busan. The typhoon landed when the tide was full, causing even bigger damages. Boats were tossed against each other in the storm. At least 82 vessels sank in huge seas. The typhoon halted operations at four nuclear power plants, cutting electricity to 1.4 million homes, as the country celebrated the three-day Thanksgiving festival of Chusok. Power was restored to all but 140,000 homes by Sunday afternoon Sept. 14, 2003.Eight huge cranes at the Port of Busan felled down. It is know in public that it will take more than a year to recover from the aftermath of Typhoon MAEMI.The storm left 131 people dead or missing. About 10,975 people had to be evacuated.
