text: typhoon rusa typhoon rusa was the most powerful typhoon to strike south korea in 43 years . it was the 21st jtwc tropical depression , the 15th named storm , and the 10th typhoon of the 2002 pacific typhoon season . it developed on august 22 from the monsoon trough in the northwestern pacific ocean , well to the southeast of japan . for several days , rusa moved to the northwest , eventually intensifying into a powerful typhoon . on august 26 , the storm moved across the amami islands of japan , where rusa left 20 , 000 people without power and caused two fatalities . across japan , the typhoon dropped torrential rainfall peaking at 902 mm ( 35 . 5 in ) in tokushima prefecture . after weakening slightly , rusa made landfall on goheung , south korea with winds of 140 km / h ( 85 mph 10 minute sustained ) . it was able to maintain much of its intensity due to warm air and instability from a nearby cold front . rusa weakened while moving through the country , dropping heavy rainfall that peaked at 897 . 5 mm ( 35 . 33 in ) in gangneung . a 24 - hour total of 880 mm ( 35 in ) in the city broke the record for the highest daily precipitation in the country ; however , the heaviest rainfall was localized . over 17 , 000 houses were damaged , and large areas of crop fields were flooded . in south korea , rusa killed at least 233 people , making it the deadliest typhoon there in over 43 years , and caused $ 4 . 2 billion in damage . the typhoon also dropped heavy rainfall in neighboring north korea , leaving 26 , 000 people homeless and killing three . rusa also destroyed large areas of crops in the country already affected by ongoing famine conditions . the typhoon later became extratropical over eastern russia on september 1 , dissipating three days later . meteorological history the monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression on august 22 north of bikini atoll and southwest of wake island . it moved to the west - northwest , a movement it would maintain for much of its duration . early on august 23 , it intensified into tropical storm rusa , about 1 , 800 km ( 1 , 100 mi ) east of guam . at 1800 utc on august 25 , the japan meteorological agency ( jma ) upgraded rusa to a typhoon while the system was northeast of the northern marianas islands . the next day , the agency estimated that the typhoon attained peak winds of 150 km / h ( 90 mph 10 minute sustained ) . around the same time , the joint typhoon warning center ( jtwc ) estimated peak winds of 215 km / h ( 135 mph 1 minute sustained ) . while at peak intensity , rusa struck the japanese island of amami ōshima . after maintaining the peak winds for about 12 hours , rusa weakened slightly as it continued to the west - northwest , but on august 28 the jma again reported the typhoon attained winds of 150 km / h ( 90 mph 10 minute sustained ) . despite forecasts that it would weaken , rusa maintained its intensity while passing south of japan , due to minimal wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures of up to 29 ° c ( 84 ° f ) . the typhoon again weakened slightly on august 29 while passing between the amami islands and japan . thereafter , rusa turned to the north toward the korean peninsula . warm , moist air blew across the peninsula ahead of the storm , which prevented significant weakening , and an approaching cold front contributed to atmospheric instability . at around 0800 utc on august 31 , rusa made landfall on goheung , south korea , with winds of 140 km / h ( 85 mph 10 minute sustained ) . according to the jtwc , rusa was the most powerful typhoon to hit the country since 1959 . the typhoon rapidly weakened while crossing the country , deteriorating into a tropical depression early on september 1 . around that time , the jtwc issued its last advisory on the system . the depression turned to the northeast , and after moving through the sea of japan , rusa became extratropical over primorsky krai in the russian far east late on september 1 . the extratropical remnants continued northeast and dissipated on september 4 over the kamchatka peninsula . preparations and impact although damage was heaviest in south korea , typhoon rusa first affected japan . the threat from the storm prompted the okinawa government to cancel a disaster drill for the island . on the island , high seas from rusa left two united states marines missing ; a later news report included the two missing as storm - related fatalities . in the anami islands , rusa destroyed six houses , forcing 38 people to evacuate . the storm left 20 , 000 people without power and cancelled several flights . winds reached 104 km / h ( 65 mph ) in , nagasaki . rains fell for seven days in the country , peaking at 902 mm ( 35 . 5 in ) in tokushima prefecture . the heaviest of the precipitation fell in nara prefecture , where a station reported 84 mm ( 3 . 3 in ) in one hour . at least 275 houses were flooded , and 137 houses were damaged . during its passage , rusa injured 12 people , 4 seriously . the typhoon also produced light rain and high seas along the coast of taiwan . before rusa affected south korea , the korea meteorological administration ( kma ) issued high sea warnings on august 29 . airports were closed in the southern portion of the country , and dams let out water to prevent excessive flooding . typhoon rusa affected much of south korea with heavy rainfall and high winds . jeju island off the country 's southern coast reported 660 mm ( 26 in ) of rainfall , producing flash flooding that flooded cars . on the island , high winds downed trees and left 60 , 000 people without power . all lower and middle schools on the island were closed , and residents were stranded after officials halted ferry and airline service . on the south korean mainland , winds reached as high as 180 km / h ( 110 mph ) . high amounts of rainfall were reported on jeju province and along the country 's southern coast , although the heaviest rainfall was only reported in a small region . in gangneung , located in the eastern portion of the country , severe thunderstorms developed due to high instability resulting from humid air from the east interacting with the taebaek mountains , producing high amounts of precipitation . the city reported the highest rainfall total in the country with 897 . 5 mm ( 35 . 33 in ) , of which 880 mm ( 35 in ) was observed in one day . the total represented 62 % of gangneung 's average yearly rainfall , and became the highest daily rainfall in the country 's history , exceeding the previous record set in 1981 by 300 mm ( 12 in ) . in the south korea interior , rainfall rates were considered a 1 in 200 year event . damage in south korea was estimated at $ 4 . 2 billion ( ₩ 5 . 15 trillion krw ) . damage was heaviest in gangneung , where about 36 , 000 homes and 622 military buildings were flooded . at the airbase in gangneung , floods submerged 16 jet fighters . along the coast , high winds damaged 640 boats and about 200 , 000 marine buildings , and 265 industrial buildings were also damaged . the heavy rainfall left mudslides in the country , one of which covered ten cars in gangneung . flooding and the landslides disrupted the country 's infrastructure ; the storm destroyed 274 bridges and damaged roads and rails at 164 locations . rusa killed 300 , 000 livestock and flooded 85 , 000 hectares ( 210 , 000 acres ) of crop fields , representing 6 % of the country 's agricultural lands , mostly affecting fruit and vegetables . the storm caused the vana h cup kbc augusta golf tournament to end early , and a stadium to be used for the 2002 asian games was damaged . across the country , 88 , 625 people were forced to evacuate due to the typhoon , and 17 , 046 houses were damaged . high winds left 1 . 25 million people after blowing down 24 , 000 power lines . there were 213 deaths in the country , and another 33 were missing and presumed dead ; this made rusa the deadliest typhoon in the country in more than 43 years . in neighboring north korea , rusa produced winds of 72 km / h ( 45 mph ) and heavy rainfall reaching 700 mm ( 28 in ) in mountainous areas of kangwon province ; rainfall totaled 530 mm ( 21 in ) in the county of kosong . the rains caused flash flooding and increased surface runoff . this occurred about a month after similarly heavy rains caused severe damage in the country . the rains from rusa damaged and flooded thousands of houses and many public buildings , and destroyed 86 , 000 tonnes of crop fields ; the latter was most significant due to the country 's ongoing famine conditions . damage was heaviest in kangwon province , and the typhoon affected four provinces and one administrative city . more than 26 , 000 people were left homeless in the country , although advance warning allowed for evacuations . rusa disrupted transportation by destroying 25 km ( 16 mi ) of roads and 24 bridges ; however , most of the damage was isolated to a small region . there were three deaths in north korea . the typhoon also affected the russian far east . on sakhalin island , rusa 's remnants dropped heavy rainfall , the equivalence of two months average precipitation . the rains flooded 350 houses , but there were no deaths in the region . aftermath following the storm , damaged buildings polluted rivers in south korea with chemicals and heavy metals . the country utilized 30 , 000 soldiers to assist in cleaning up and repairing storm damage . president kim dae - jung authorized emergency funding for disaster aid . much of gangneung lost power and water ; as a result , relief supplies were sent to the affected citizens . by ten days after rusa struck the country , power lines were restored and transportation returned to normal . after an appeal to other residents in the country , the south korea red cross chapter received $ 49 million in donations ( ₩ 58 billion won ) , mostly from the country 's northwest portion . the agency provided 50 , 680 meals to 16 , 919 families , as well as clothing and cooking supplies . residents in the country raised about $ 60 million ( ₩ 72 . 1 billion won ) in disaster relief , the highest such total for a disaster in the nation . the chinese red cross sent $ 20 , 000 to the south korean red cross in the weeks after the storm . on september 13 , the south korean government declared 203 cities and counties as disaster zones , which entitled 8 , 714 families who sustained storm damage to receive government loans . the combined storm damage and floods preceding the storm caused the nation 's economy to contract during the third quarter of 2002 . the 2003 fiscal year reported a $ 300 million deficit for non - life insurance companies , mostly due to losses from the typhoon . crop damage from rusa caused the price of rice to increase to their highest levels since 1980 . in the year after the storm , the south korean government worked to reconstruct damaged roads and provided monthly assistance payments to families who lost their homes . however , many residents remained homeless and were residing in temporary shelters . the country 's habitat for humanity built 69 houses for storm victims in 2003 , although that was only for a small portion of the overall number of people affected . about a year after rusa hit , typhoon maemi also struck south korea with stronger winds , causing $ 3 . 74 billion in damage and 117 deaths . the damage total was less than from rusa but was more significant to industrial areas . in north korea , the red cross provided relief supplies to residents affected by flooding . the agency 's international disaster relief fund provided ( 2002 chf ( $ 50 , 000 usd ) .. soldiers were used to assist in search and rescue missions and to repair damaged infrastructure . due to storm damage , the red cross in north korea distributed over 2 . 1 million water purification tablets and over 11 , 000 water containers . the agency also provided 32 , 753 blankets and 4 , 931 kitchen units . after the storm , people left homeless by the storm sought shelter with neighbors or in shelters . a south korean dairy company donated 42 , 000 cans of baby formula to north korea . the name rusa was retired after its usage in 2002 , and was replaced with nuri in 2004 .