Typhoon Pongsona

Typhoon Pongsona was the last typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, and was the second costliest United States disaster in 2002, only behind Hurricane Lili. The name "Pongsona" was contributed by North Korea for the Pacific tropical cyclone list and is the Korean name for the garden balsam. Pongsona developed out of an area of disturbed weather on December 2, and steadily intensified to reach typhoon status on December 5. On December 8 it passed through Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands while near its peak winds of 175 km/h (110 mph 10-min). It ultimately turned to the northeast, weakened, and became extratropical on December 11.

Typhoon Pongsona produced strong wind gusts peaking at 278 km/h (173 mph 1-min), which left the entire island of Guam without power and destroyed about 1,300 houses. With strong building standards and experience from repeated typhoon strikes, there were no fatalities directly related to Pongsona, although there was one indirect death from flying glass. Damage on the island totaled over $700 million (2002 US$, $921 million 2016 USD), making Pongsona among the five costliest typhoons on the island. The typhoon also caused heavy damage on Rota and elsewhere in the Northern Mariana Islands, and as a result of its impact the name was retired.

Typhoon Noul

The name Noul has been used to name two tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The name was contributed by North Korea and means red sky. It replaced the retired name Pongsona, which was used in 2002.