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>
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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>
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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>
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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>