Rip Current — Saipan, Guam

1998-09-27 · near Garapan, Saipan, Guam

Wider weather episode

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.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5670590. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.