Posted on 09/07/2004 9:09:31 AM PDT by Truth666
TOKYO Typhoon Songda battered Japan and South Korea on Tuesday, cutting power to millions, injuring more than 200 people and disrupting transportation.
The seventh typhoon to strike Japan this season, a record number, Songda hit the islands of Kyushu and Okinawa in the south with winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour.
In the waters off Yamaguchi Prefecture, near Kyushu, Coast guardsmen were attempting to rescue 22 seamen aboard an Indonesian freighter that issued a distress signal after running aground, but were hampered by the severe weather.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
In second grade in Japan, I was in a typhoon. While I was far inland (ha!); I have nothing but awe and respect for typhoons. Never have I forgotten that experience. Force of winds is remarkable. We, in a jeep with parking brakes on, etc... being inched along by the winds.
It was kinda a nice storm. Actually Typhoon 18 here in Japam, with 6 striking. September is usually typhoon season so you can understand why Japanese are freaking big time over this.
Typhoons are NOTHING compared to hurricanes though.
The only difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is the name. Meteorologically speaking, they are all tropical cylcones - just different source regions. Hurricanes in the Atlantic and Typhoons in the Western Pacific. Typhoons, generally, are stronger than hurricanes since the Pacific is much larger than the Atlantic. Strong typhoons are classified as "Super-Typhoons" when the winds reach 150 MPH... something that hurricanes in the Atlantic rarely achieve.
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