"Typhoon Like Never Experienced? The Feeling Inside"…Rude Remarks Gauging Disaster Scale

"Typhoon Passes Smoothly" "Not a Big Deal"
Hurtful Remarks Ignoring Victims Flood SNS
Experts Say "Even If Unlikely, It's Right to Prepare to Minimize Damage"

On the afternoon of the 6th, affected by Typhoon No. 11 'Hinnamnor', household items flooded in Guryongpo Market, Pohang, are piled up. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Typhoon No. 11 'Hinnamnor,' the third strongest typhoon to ever make landfall in South Korea, briefly but fiercely swept through various parts of the city. Although Hinnamnor stayed inland for just over two hours, the damage was significant. As of the morning of the 7th, there were about 10 reported deaths and missing persons, and over 10,000 houses were flooded. The damage was concentrated in Jeju and the southern regions. The Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, which was relatively distant from the typhoon's path, experienced less damage.

In this situation, reactions on social networking services (SNS) and other online platforms sparked controversy, with comments such as "the typhoon was not as strong as expected" or "the government's typhoon response and the Meteorological Administration's forecasts were exaggerated." Critics pointed out that these views only consider personal perceptions of the disaster and completely disregard the situations of the affected residents.

On the 6th, when Hinnamnor made landfall in South Korea, an online community post titled "The Biggest Liar Administration Ever" was uploaded. "Liar Administration" is a derogatory term for the Meteorological Administration when weather forecasts miss the mark. The netizen wrote, "Except for the power outages, it passed without major damage," and added, "It didn't even come close to the claws of Typhoon Maemi. Why did they keep issuing typhoon alerts for five days straight...?"

Additionally, other online community posts included comments such as "We prepared thoroughly because it was said to be an ultra-powerful typhoon, but it passed quietly," "Following the Meteorological Administration, the media scared the public unnecessarily, which is regrettable," and "It's nothing special, but they're making a fuss," reflecting the sentiment that the fear was exaggerated despite the limited damage.

Poet Ryu Geun also faced backlash after comparing Hinnamnor to a "mouse." In a post on Facebook, Ryu said, "People might say that thanks to the government’s thorough preparation, things turned out fine, but somehow I feel deceived. It felt like a little mouse just scurried by." He added, "I apologize to those who suffered damage, but aside from some YouTubers’ chaos and the media’s overnight praise of President Yoon Seok-yeol, was it right to scare the public about a typhoon they had never experienced before?"

Some netizens criticized these reactions as inappropriate. One netizen pointed out, "Are you saying this just because there was no damage in the metropolitan area? We never know when or where a typhoon will cause damage, so shouldn’t safety preparations always be more than sufficient?"

Professor Lee Youngjoo of the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at the University of Seoul said, "If the preparations had been insufficient and damage occurred, people would have asked why there was no prior preparation. When it was announced that a typhoon would make landfall in our country, not only the Meteorological Administration but also the entire world forecasted a very strong typhoon. The government must prepare for all possibilities, even if the chance is small, based on confirmed information and minimize damage."

However, Professor Lee added, "The danger radius varies depending on the typhoon’s path, and the perceived damage differs by region and location, so people may feel that the forecast was wrong. Although weather forecasting has advanced, there is still a need to provide more detailed weather information by region, district, and neighborhood to increase reliability," she advised.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.