The Characteristics of Disaster Associated with Track of Typhoon Affecting the Korean Peninsula

The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of disaster caused by typhoon passed through the sea areas excluding the South Sea around the Korean Peninsula. First, Korean peninsula-affecting typhoons were divided into their track patterns of passing through the Korean West Sea and East Sea based on typhoon data from 1951 to 2006 provided by Regional Specialized Meteorological Center(RSMC)-Tokyo. Then, annual and monthly frequency and intensity of typhoon in each pattern was examined. In particular, typhoon related damages during the period of 1973 to 2006 were analyzed in each case. Results showed that since early 1970, in the West Sea case, typhoon becomes weaker without significant change in frequency, while in the East Sea case, it becomes stronger with an increasing trend. It is also found that the high amount of typhoon damage results from the submergence of houses and farmlands in the East Sea case, while it is due to the breakdown of houses, ships, roads and bridges in the West Sea case. In addition, it is revealed from the analysis of rainfall and maximum wind speed data associated with typhoon disasters that the main cause of occurring typhoon disasters seem to be qualitatively related to strong wind in the West Sea case and heavy rainfall in the East Sea case.