The Typhoon Committee has agreed to replace several storm names in the official list used for the Northwest Pacific, including the replacement of Yagi with Tomo.

The decision was made during the 58th session of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, currently taking place in Jeju, South Korea, from March 10 to 13, 2026.

During the meeting, member countries discussed and approved adjustments to several typhoon names used in the Northwest Pacific basin.

Under the committee’s operating mechanism, the current naming list has been used since 2000. It was created from proposals submitted by 14 member countries and territories and is applied on a rotating basis for monitoring and forecasting tropical cyclones.

If a storm causes particularly severe damage or for other special reasons, a member country can request that the storm name be removed from the list.

Once the request is approved, the country that originally proposed the name must submit three replacement options. The Typhoon Committee then reviews and selects one of the proposed names during its annual meetings.

At this year’s session, delegates reviewed nine storm names and agreed on their replacements.

Specifically, Toraji will be replaced by Gaeguri; Kong-rey by Koki; Man-yi by Dim-sum; Usagi by Hebi; Yagi by Tomo; Jebi by Narae; Krathon by Burapha; Trami by Hoaban; and Ewiniar by Tirou.

Notably, the name “Hoaban,” proposed by Vietnam, was approved to replace Trami in the current list.

Hoa Ban is a flower native to Vietnam’s northwestern mountainous region and carries cultural significance as a symbol of the natural beauty of the highlands.

The conference also acknowledged requests from the Philippines and Vietnam to retire several additional storm names because of the severe damage caused by these storms in 2025.

These include Wipha, Co-May, Mitag, Ragasa, Bualoi, Matmo, Kalmaegi and Fung-Wong.

The countries that originally contributed these names will submit proposed replacements for consideration during the committee’s 59th session scheduled for 2027.

According to Typhoon Committee regulations, new storm names must meet several criteria. They must contain no more than nine characters, be easy to pronounce in media communication, avoid negative meanings in member languages, not be commercial names and not be confused with tropical cyclone names used in other regions.

Bao Anh