REMEMBERING 2O10’S SEVERE WINDSTORMS – PART 1

XynthiaTropical Storms and Hurricanes: Atlantic

BasinTropical Storms and Hurricanes: Pacific

BasinTyphoonsCyclones

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for

Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

2010

THE YEAR OF “RECORD AND NEAR-RECORD” NATURAL

DISASTERS

HAZARDS OF A SEVERE WINDSTORM (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• WIND FIELD (COUNTER CLOCKWISE OR CLOCKWISE DIRECTION; CAT 1 (55 mph) TO CAT 5 (155 mph or greater)

• STORM SURGE

• HEAVY PRECIPITATION

• LANDSLIDES (MUDFLOWS)

• COSTAL EROSION

• TORNADOES (SOMETIMES)

WIND PENETRATING BUILDING ENVELOPE

SEVERE WINDSTORMS

SEVERE WINDSTORMS

UPLIFT OF ROOF SYSTEM

FLYING DEBRIS

STORM SURGE

IRREGULARITIES IN ELEVATION AND PLAN

SITING PROBLEMS

FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES

CAUSES OF DAMAGE

CAUSES OF DAMAGE

“DISASTER LABORATORIES”

“DISASTER LABORATORIES”

Rain, floods, landslides, and water-borne diseases are typical after a tropical

storm, hurricane, typhoon, or cyclone.

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•HAZARD MAPS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

RISK ASSESSMENTRISK ASSESSMENT

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

SEVERE WINDSTORM SEVERE WINDSTORM RISK REDUCTIONRISK REDUCTION

•PREVENTION/MITIGATION•PREPAREDNESS•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

IMPACTED NATIONS

Western Europe (France, Portugal, Spain), Caribbean (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Jamaica, Antigua, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Saint Lucia, Atlantic Canada, …

IMPACTED NATIONS (Continued)

St Barthelemy, Saba, and St Eustatius, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras), Cuba, …

IMPACTED NATIONS (Continued)

Mexico, USA (Texas, East Coast), The Philippines, Taiwan, China, …

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010

• High winds, storm surges, heavy rains, landslides affected millions.

• Hundreds of thousands of homes without power, damaged, destroyed, or inundated.

• Hundreds of thousands evacuated.

• Lives and livelihoods of millions impacted.

• Gulf oil leak and Clean up slowed

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010 (Continued)

• Infrastructure damaged and destroyed.

• Oil and gas platforms impacted.

• $ billions in insured and uninsured economic losses.

WINDSTORM XYNTHIA

FEBRUARY 26-28, 2010

WHAT WAS XYNTHIA?

Xynthia, a violent European windstorm with winds up to 140km/hr, crossed Western

Europe on 26–28 February 2010, and was the most violent storm since “Lothar” and “Martin” in

December 1999

A powerful storm surge with waves up to 7.5 m (25 ft) high hit at high tide and smashed through a 200-

year-old sea wall off France’s coastal town of L’Aiquillon-Sur-Mer

XYNTHIA: FLOODING IN FRANCE

Xynthia: 1) caused flooding, 2) cut power to more than 1 million homes in France and Portugal,

respectively, 3) disrupted travel in Spain, 4) tore roofs off houses, 5)

downed trees, 6) caused at least 51 deaths, and 7) caused losses

estimated at $1.8 B ($1.4 insured).

The 2010 season was predicted to be less severe

than 2009 in the Pacific Basin and more severe in

the Atlantic Basin because of the diminished El Nino

conditions

The Eastern Pacific is, on average, the second-most active basin in the world with an average of 16 tropical storms annually, with 9 becoming hurricanes, and 4 becoming major hurricanes, frequently impacting

mainland Mexico and the Revillagigedo Islands, and

infrequently the USA.

PACIFIC BASIN TROPICAL STORMS – HURRICANES: 2010

• AGATHA

• BLAS

• CELIA (H)

• DARBY (H)

• ESTELLE

• FRANK (H)

• …

AGATHA’S PATH

BLAS’ PATH: JUNE 21

• AGATHA

• BLAS

• CELIA

• DARBY

• FRANK

CELIA’S PATH: JUNE 29

• AGATHA

• BLAS

• CELIA

• DARBY

• FRANK

DARBY’S PATH:JUNE 29

• AGATHA

• BLAS

• CELIA

• DARBY

• FRANK

FRANK’S PATH: AUGUST 29

• AGATHA

• BLAS

• CELIA

• DARBY

• FRANK

TROPICAL STORM AGATHA STRIKES GUATEMALA

SHORTLY AFTER PACAVA ERUPTS

FIRST STORM OF PACIFIC SEASON FOLLOWS VOLCANIC ERUPTION

MAY 27-29, 2010

Tropical Storm Agatha was a weak, but catastrophic storm that made

landfall near the Guatemala-Mexico border on the evening of May 29.

Before the arrival of Tropical Storm Agatha, the Pacava volcano,

located 25 km south of Guatemala City, started spewing lava and ash

on Friday, May 28th, forcing the evacuation of hundreds.

PACAVA ERUPTS: MAY 28

Agatha produced torrential rain all across Central America, which

resulted in the death of one person in Nicaragua. 152 in Guatemala

(with another 100 missing because of landslides), and 13 in El

Salvador.

TORRENTIAL RAINS

SINKHOLE: GUATEMALA CITY

66 FT WIDE AND 100 FT DEEP SINKHOLE

SINKHOLE

SINKHOLE

SINKHOLE

Sam Bonis, a geologist from Dartmouth, said that Guatemala

City is sitting on a bed of old volcanic ash that has not

completely lithified (turned into solid rock), and that he believed that the sinkhole was caused by

leaking pipes underground.

Remnants of the storm were expected to deliver 10 to 20 in (25 to

50 cm) of rain over southeastern Mexico, Guatemala and parts of El

Salvador, creating the possibility of "life-threatening flash floods and

mudslides.”

TYPHOON CHANTHU (Category 1)

July 17-23, 2010

TYPHOON CHANTHU: A CAT 1 STORM

SUPER TYPHOON MEGI (MEANS “CATFISH” IN

KOREAN) STRIKES THE PHILIPPINES THEN TAIWAN

AND CHINA

OCT 18-25, 2010

OCTOBER 22

OCTOBER 18, 2010

Megi, known locally as Juan, was a category 5 super typhoon, the highest rating, with winds of

more than 250 kph and a diameter of over 600 km when it made landfall at Sierra Madre’s

Estagno Point in Isabela at 11:25 a.m. on Monday.

MEGI: 600 KM ACROSS (NASA PHOTO)

MEGI’S FINAL PATH (AS OF OCT 24TH)

THE PHILIPPINES

October 18th

Megi tore roofs off houses, destroyed rice crops, toppled

trees, ripped down power lines, triggered landslides in the

mountains and whipped up huge waves.

.

MEGI’S WIND FIELD LEFT A PATH OF DESTRUCTION

HOUSES OF THE POOREST OF THE POOR DESTROYED

MEGI’S WIND TEARING OFF ROOFS OF GOVERNMENT HOUSES

HOUSES SUBMERGED

MEGI’S WIND KNOCKED OUT POWER

Initial estimates indicate that Megi’s damage to

infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and schools in the

Philippines reached 1.4 billion Philippine pesos ($32

million).

Loss of communications made it impossible at first to estimate casualties, but data later indicated that loss of life

was only about twenty-two people.

TAIWAN

October 21

TAIWAN: WAVES GENERATED BY TYPHOON MEGI

TAIWAN: FLOODING GENERATED BY TYPHOON MEGI

LANDSLIDE - SUHUA HIGHWAY, TAIWAN: OCT 21

CHINA

October 23

While Taiwan was experiencing high winds, severe flooding and

landslides on the 21st , China was evacuated 160,000 people

and called in fishing boats before the expected onslaught

of Megi on Friday (Oct 22nd).

10,000 BOATS RECALLED IN FUJIAN PROVINCE: OCT 21

As a result of preparations in Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, no major casualties

were reported after landfall.

Nevertheless, more than 647,900 people and 26,190 hectares of

crops were affected by the typhoon, which flattened 500

houses, forced 313,200 people to evacuate their homes, and caused losses estimated at

$238 million.