9 Destructive Typhoons Retired, New Names Activated
Nine destructive typhoons from the 2024 Pacific typhoon season — the deadliest in over a decade — have been officially retired from the international naming list, with new names activated to replace them, the China Meteorological Administration and Hong Kong Observatory announced on June 8, 2026.
The retired names — KONG-REY, TORAJI, MAN-YI, USAGI, YAGI, EWINIAR, JEBI, KRATHON, and TRAMI — were formally removed during the 58th session of the UN ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, held in Jeju, South Korea from March 10 to 13, 2026. According to CCTV News, the committee reviewed and approved nine replacement names submitted by member countries and regions.
The Typhoon Naming System
The ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee manages the naming, retirement, and renaming of tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific and South China Sea. Fourteen members each contribute 10 names, forming a rotating list of 140 names. As Zhao Wei, Director of the Typhoon and Marine Weather Forecasting Center at China’s National Meteorological Center, explained, names must follow strict rules: they cannot exceed nine English letters, must be easy to pronounce, must have clear meaning with no negative connotations in member languages, and cannot be commercial brand names.
A name is retired when a typhoon causes significant casualties or enormous economic losses, or when the name proves inappropriate in member languages. Since the system was established in 2000, a total of 85 typhoons have been retired as of 2025. The years 2022 and 2024 now share the record for the most retirements in a single season, with nine each.
The 2024 Season: A Year of Devastation
The 2024 Pacific typhoon season was the deadliest since 2013 and the fourth costliest on record, with 26 named storms, 13 typhoons, and total damages of approximately US$29.65 billion. More than 1,300 people lost their lives across multiple countries.
Super Typhoon YAGI (Capricorn) was the most destructive, causing an estimated US$14.7 billion in damages — the third-costliest Pacific typhoon on record. As the Hong Kong Observatory reported, Yagi left 844 to 1,009 fatalities across the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. It became the strongest autumn typhoon ever to hit China and the strongest typhoon ever recorded making landfall in Vietnam.
Other retired storms caused devastation on a similar scale. Typhoons TRAMI and KONG-REY struck the Philippines in late October 2024, together claiming 159 lives and affecting over 9.6 million people, with economic losses exceeding PHP18.4 billion. In mid-November, an unprecedented event saw four typhoons — TORAJI, USAGI, MAN-YI, and YINXING — simultaneously active in the Pacific basin, causing additional casualties and damage across the Philippines.
One name, JEBI, was retired not due to damage but because it was found to have an inappropriate meaning in other languages.
The New Names and Their Meanings
The nine replacement names reflect the cultural diversity of the Typhoon Committee’s 14 members:
| New Name | Meaning | Replaces | Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOKI | A large tree with hard flesh | KONG-REY | Cambodia |
| GAEGURI | A frog | TORAJI | DPR Korea |
| DIM-SUM | A famous Hong Kong cuisine | MAN-YI | Hong Kong, China |
| HEBI | Serpens; snake | USAGI | Japan |
| TOMO | Puppis; stern (constellation) | YAGI | Japan |
| TIROU | A formal greeting in Chuukese culture | EWINIAR | Micronesia |
| NARAE | The wing of a bird or insect | JEBI | Republic of Korea |
| BURAPHA | East | KRATHON | Thailand |
| HOABAN | A flowering plant in the Fabaceae family | TRAMI | Vietnam |
Among the new names, “Dim-Sum” has drawn particular attention. As Dimsum Daily reported, the name sparked enthusiastic discussion among Hong Kong netizens for its immediate association with the beloved Cantonese cuisine. Vietnam’s contribution, “Hoaban” (Ban Flower), carries cultural significance as a typical flower of the Northwest mountainous region, symbolizing the beauty of the highlands.
Implications and Outlook
The high number of retirements from the 2024 season — tied with 2022 at nine — reflects a concerning trend of increasingly intense tropical cyclones in the Asia-Pacific region. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, in her opening remarks at the Typhoon Committee session, noted that the region is “seeing more rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, more dangerous rainfall and coastal flooding threatening megacities.”
The Philippines has additionally proposed retiring seven more names — Wipha, Co-May, Mitag, Ragasa, Bualoi, Kalmaegi, and Fung-wong — with replacement names to be considered at subsequent committee sessions. As the 2025 and 2026 typhoon seasons unfold, meteorologists will be watching closely to see whether the pattern of intensification continues, and how improved forecasting and early warning systems can help mitigate future impacts.