May 4, 2008 Tsunami: Yellow Sea, South Korea

The event that occurred on 4 May 2008 on the western coast of South Korea was one of the most catastrophic meteotsunamis in human history. Unexpected, devastating tsunami-like waves in the area of Boryeong (northwestern coast of South Korea) washed 36 people away in the sea; 9 of them were killed and 15 injured (Yoo et al. 2010; Kim et al. 2017). An atmospheric pressure jump of 2-3 hPa was measured at the Boryeong observatory. According to CCTV video image analysis, the maximum height of the waves was 1.3 m, the dominant period was 3.1 min, and the current speed was nearly 7.3 m/s (Yoo et al. 2010). However, the wave height observed at the Boryeong station was only 10 cm; thus, the exact factors responsible for destructive amplification of this wave in the main affected area remain unclear (Cho et al. 2010).

(all above reference #12544)

At noon on 4 May 2008, there were many people fishing near the breakwater of the coastal city of Boryeong, western coast of South Korea, when a sudden 1.3‐m high meteotsunami wave approached at the top of the tide and washed 36 people into the sea (Yoo et al., 2010), of which 9 were killed by the wave while 15 suffered serious injuries. The timing of the event was crucial, as a much stronger meteotsunami, with maximum measured wave height of up to 3 m, occurred along the western South Korea coast a year before, 31 March 2007, but between midnight and dawn, causing only damage and no human casualties (M. S. Kim et al., 2019). (reference #14271)