Guam, 1998

Flooding and Rip Current in Guam, September 11 to 27, 1998

September 11 to 27, 1998 · NWS GUA · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Active Monsoon trough developed in the region of Guam. The trough and a few weak circulations that developed in the trough brought periods of heavy rains to Guam on the 11th and 12th.

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GUA wrote it up.

Active Monsoon trough developed in the region of Guam. The trough and a few weak circulations that developed in the trough brought periods of heavy rains to Guam on the 11th and 12th. On the 11th 0.75 of an inch of rain fell at the Tiyan Weather Service Office from 2000 to 2100 local. An additional 1.33 inches of rain fell from 2200 local to midnight. On the 12th 1.58 inches of rain fell from 4 to 10 local time. One of the small circulations on the trough eventually developed into Tropical Depression 08W. On the 27th Dong Suk Kim, who was about 20 years old, was walking along the beach in Saipan with a friend. The both of them were looking for a third friend. At about 1500 local they were hit by a huge wave.Dong's friend managed to hold onto a rock, but Dong was swept out into the sea. Rescue divers found Dong's body under about 41 feet of water.

Event by event

2 flood, 1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Guam

When
September 11, 8:00 PM SST to September 12, 12:00 AM SST
Where
Guam County, Countywide
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Guam

When
September 12, 4:00 AM SST to 10:00 AM SST
Where
Guam County, Countywide
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Rip Current, Saipan

When
September 27, 3:00 PM SST to 4:00 PM SST
Where
Saipan County, Garapan
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Rip Current, Saipan1998-10-2720MaleIn WaterDirect

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Rip Current
A narrow, fast current flowing away from the beach that caused a drowning or rescue.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Guam in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Guam, September 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5670588, 5670589, 5670590.