Untitled Document
 Typhoons occur in Korea every summer. They are strong
and destructive storms. Typhoons develop over water in the
Earth’s tropical regions. Their powerful swirling winds can travel very fast and cause serious destruction. Typhoons form
in the tropics, but they can travel and affect a much larger area.
Then, how do they form and how did they get
their names?
Typhoons are a type of cyclone, a low-pressure storm with winds
swirling around the center. They commonly occur in Southeast
Asia. In fact, typhoons and hurricanes are both tropical
cyclones. “Typhoon,” “hurricane” and “cyclone” are all different names
for the same strong windstorms that form all over the world. They
are known as “typhoons” in the northwest Pacific region; “hurricanes”
in North and Central America or “cyclones” in the southwest Pacific
or Indian Ocean.
 Both
typhoons and hurricanes spin counterclockwise. Typhoons
are usually larger and stronger than hurricanes. On average, more typhoons
form than hurricanes a year. About 25 to 30 typhoons occur per year while 10 to 15 Atlantic
hurricanes occur.
Typhoons form year-round, but they occur
most often between May and November. Typhoons most commonly form during
late summer over warm seas before moving west toward land. The low-pressure center
of a typhoon is called an eye. The eye is 16 to 64
kilometers wide, and winds blow counterclockwise around it. It rains
a little or clear and blue sky can be seen above the eye.
Recently, the 9th typhoon Muifa destroyed many parts of Korea.
Last week, the strong windstorm destroyed about 200 houses in the
southwestern coast. About 150,000 people
in Jeollanam-do suffered from power failures, too. Jeju
Island was also hit by the powerful typhoon and about 130 farms and
houses were damaged. Other public facilities were destroyed as well.
 Since 2000,
typhoons have been named after plants, animals, humans, and other
names. There are 140 different names for typhoons. A total of 14 countries
in the Asia-Pacific region that are affected by these storms came
up with 10 different names each for typhoons. After all 140 have been
used, the names are recycled, beginning with the top of the list.
Naming helps forecasters describe storms when there
is more than one. “Muifa” is a name submitted by Macau. It means
“plum blossom.” South Korea
submitted 10 names including Gaemi, Nari, Jangmi,
Noru and Nabi. North Korea also submitted 10 names including Sonamu,
Podul, Noul, Mindulle, and Nalgae. |
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