Typhoon Maemi was the most powerful typhoon to strike South Korea since records began in 1904. Maemi formed on September 4, 2003 in the western Pacific and became a typhoon on September 8. Passing over the Japanese island of Miyako-jima on September 10, it left 95 percent of residents without power and caused 58.5 mm (2.30 in) of rainfall in an hour and 402.5 mm (15.85 in) in 24 hours. Maintaining much of its intensity, it made landfall west of Busan, South Korea, on September 12, where winds reached 154 km/h (96 mph). The port sustained heavy damage, restricting exports for months. On Jeju Island, it produced a peak wind gust of 216 km/h (134 mph) and a minimum pressure of 950 mbar (28 inHg), both records for the country. Nationwide, high winds destroyed about 5,000 houses and damaged 13,000 buildings, leaving 25,000 people homeless. Crop damage resulted in the poorest rice harvest in 23 years. Across South Korea, Maemi killed 117 people, and damage totaled 5.52 trillion won (US$4.8 billion).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Maemi

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1851:

Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto premiered at La Fenice in Venice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoletto

1946:

Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, was captured by British troops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_H%C3%B6ss

1978:

After hijacking a bus north of Tel Aviv, Israel, members of the Palestine Liberation Organization faction Fatah engaged in a shootout with police, resulting in the deaths of 38 civilians and most of the perpetrators. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Road_massacre

2011:

A massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan (damage pictured) and triggered a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

jibe: 1. (transitive) To reproach with contemptuous words; to deride, to mock, to taunt. 2. (transitive) To say in a mocking or taunting manner. 3. (intransitive) To make a mocking remark or remarks; to jeer. […] 4. (intransitive, Canada, US, informal) To accord or agree. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jibe

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

These are hard times. The world hurts. We live in fear and forget to walk with hope. But hope has not forgotten you. So ask it to dinner. It's probably hungry and would appreciate the invitation.   --Libba Bray https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Libba_Bray