Typhoon Sudal was the strongest typhoon (the Northwestern Pacific Basin equivalent of a hurricane) in half a century to strike the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The entire island, only 17 km (11 mi) in length, experienced typhoon-force winds (at least 119 km/h or 74 mph), and 90% of the structures were damaged or destroyed. The storm formed on April 2, 2004, to the east of the country and attained tropical storm status on April 5. On April 9, it passed just south of Yap, and shortly thereafter its peak winds were estimated at 240 km/h (150 mph). After moving northwest and then northeast, Sudal became an extratropical cyclone on April 16 and dissipated two days later. Overall damage was $14 million, most of which was on Yap. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported, but more than 80 percent of the islanders were without clean running water after the storm. The name Sudal (Korean for "otter") had been contributed by South Korea for the Pacific tropical cyclone list; due to the heavy damage, the name was retired.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1860:

On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville made the oldest known recording of an audible human voice, when he recorded himself singing "Au clair de la lune". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard-L%C3%A9on_Scott_de_Martinville

1865:

With their supply trains destroyed by Union troops one day earlier, Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at the McLean House near the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House

1918:

World War I: Aníbal Milhais's actions during the Battle of the Lys made him the only person to be awarded Portugal's highest military honour, the Order of the Tower and Sword, directly on the battlefield. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Lys_(1918)

1948:

Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre

2003:

Invasion of Iraq: Coalition forces captured Baghdad and the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square was toppled (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firdos_Square_statue_destruction

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

brunt: 1. The full adverse effects of; the chief consequences or negative results of a thing or event. 2. The major part of, the bulk. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brunt

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Speaking of love, one problem that recurs more and more frequently these days, in books and plays and movies, is the inability of people to communicate with the people they love: husbands and wives who can't communicate, children who can't communicate with their parents, and so on. And the characters in these books and plays and so on, and in real life, I might add, spend hours bemoaning the fact that they can't communicate. I feel that if a person can't communicate, the very least he can do is to shut up.   --Tom Lehrer https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer