Typhoon Khanun (2023)

Pacific typhoon in 2023

Typhoon Khanun (Falcon)
Khanun at peak intensity while approaching the Okinawa Islands on August 1
Meteorological history
FormedJuly 26, 2023
ExtratropicalAugust 10, 2023
DissipatedAugust 12, 2023
Very strong typhoon
10-minute sustained (JMA)
Highest winds175 km/h (110 mph)
Lowest pressure930 hPa (mbar); 27.46 inHg
Category 4-equivalent typhoon
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds220 km/h (140 mph)
Lowest pressure928 hPa (mbar); 27.40 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities13
Injuries115
Missing16
Damage$98.1 million (2023 USD)
Areas affectedPhilippines, Taiwan, Japan, Korean Peninsula, China, Russian Far East
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata

Part of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Khanun (Thai: ขนุน), known in the Philippines as Typhoon Falcon, was a powerful, erratic and long-lived tropical cyclone that moved along Okinawa, Japan and the west coast of the Korean Peninsula in August 2023. The sixth named storm, and the fourth typhoon of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season. Khanun started as a low-pressure area in the Pacific Ocean. It rapidly intensified into a Category 4-equivalent typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson scale over the Philippine Sea on August 1, before undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle. Khanun weakened slightly as it moved closer to the Ryukyu Islands, battering them with heavy rain and strong winds. Khanun began to degrade its eye on satellite imagery due to quasi-stationary and warming cloud tops. Steady weakening continued as Khanun approached the Korean Peninsula and it eventually made landfall on Geojedo in South Korea. The storm dissipated shortly thereafter.

Khanun became the first to pass through the Korean Peninsula from south to north since recordkeeping began in 1951. In South Korea, approximately 40,350 people lost power. At least 159 different facilities were reportedly damaged. More than 1.019 ha (2.52 acres) of farmland in South Gyeongsang Province suffered damage. State media in North Korea reported that Khanun also caused minor damage. In Russia, Khanun brought heavy rains to parts of the Primorsky Krai in the Russian Far East, Russia dispatched a task team to observe the cleanup of areas of the country. A state of emergency was declared in 21 municipalities.13 people have been reported dead and 16 have been reported to have gone missing following the typhoon, another 115 remain injured, and damage totaled at US$98.1 million.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression