[News Terms] Mediterranean Libya Struck by 'Medicane'

'Medicane' is a hurricane that occurs in the Mediterranean Sea, a compound word of Mediterranean Sea and Hurricane.

The Mediterranean region experiences hot and dry weather with almost no rain in summer due to the influence of the subtropical air mass. In winter, a precipitation zone forms under the influence of the northward-moving northern air mass, bringing heavy rain and mild weather.

On the 11th (local time), a vehicle was left damaged due to flooding in Derna City, northeastern Libya, North Africa. More than 5,300 people died as floods occurred in Derna City and other areas due to the impact of Medicane 'Daniel'.
[Photo by AFP/ Yonhap News, Derna (Libya)]

From this period at the end of summer, about 1 to 3 'extratropical cyclones' occur annually in the dry Mediterranean region, especially along the western coast. These extratropical cyclones usually dissipate within two days at most, but occasionally develop into tropical cyclones called Medicane.

Because the frequency of extratropical cyclones developing into Medicane is low, there is no separate 'committee' to observe and notify them like typhoons in East Asia or hurricanes in North America. Therefore, names are not listed or numbered sequentially; instead, the relevant regional meteorological centers assign names as needed. Medicane has a smaller radius than hurricanes and lasts only about 24 to 48 hours. However, its strong winds and heavy rain are comparable to those of hurricanes.

The Medicane 'Daniel,' which caused the storm that swept through Libya this time, is a very rare and special case of a tropical cyclone development. Daniel first formed over Greece on the 4th (local time). Within just one day of formation, it poured an astonishing 750 mm of rain?equivalent to 18 months' worth?at once over the eastern coastal areas of Greece, including Magnesia and Volos, and the central regions of Karditsa and Trikala.

Daniel, which should have dissipated as an extratropical cyclone at this stage, took a southern course and gained strength from the unusually warm Mediterranean Sea, heated by record-breaking heat in recent months, developing into a Medicane and advancing across the Mediterranean toward Libya.

On the 10th (local time), Daniel engulfed eastern Libya with strong winds of 70 to 80 km/h and set a new record by dumping 414.1 mm of rain in a single day. Libya's usual rainfall is less than 5 mm in September and only about 200 mm annually. According to major foreign media, due to the impact of Medicane Daniel, two dams near the northeastern Libyan port city of Derna collapsed, resulting in more than 5,300 deaths and an estimated 10,000 missing persons.

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