SUPER TYPHOON USAGI Headed Towards The Philippines,

Taiwan, and ChinaSeptember 20, 2013

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

The most powerful typhoon of the 2013 season approached the

northern Philippines and southern Taiwan on Friday (Sept. 20) with wind reaching 300 kph (184 mph)

and torrential rain

TSUNAMI ROUND TABLE

AUGUST 7, 2005

SUPER TYPHOON USAGI NEAR THE PHILIPPINES

SUPER TYPHOON USAGI: FORECAST

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF USAGI

• Usagi has a diameter of 1,100 kilometers (660 miles), with outer rain bands extending across the main northern Philippine island of Luzon and southern Taiwan.

• Forecasters predict 24-hour rainfall accumulation of 500 millimeters (nearly 20 inches) near its center.

WIND AND WATER PENETRATE BUILDING ENVELOPE

SEVERE

WINDSTORMS

SEVERE

WINDSTORMS

UPLIFT OF ROOF SYSTEM

FLYING DEBRIS PENETRATES WINDOWS

STORM SURGE AND HEAVY PRECIPITATION

IRREGULARITIES IN ELEVATION AND PLAN

POOR WORKMANSHIP

IGNORING NON-STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

CAUSES OF RISK

CAUSES OF RISK

CASE HISTORIESCASE HISTORIES

ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS: THE PHILIPPINES

• In the Philippines, the Batanes Islands are under the highest storm alert

• Government officials warned of flash floods, landslides and storm surge in 15 northern provinces.

ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS: TAIWAN

• In Taiwan, hundreds of people are being evacuated from flood-prone areas near cities and in remote mountainous regions

ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS: CHINA

• The Guangdong-Hong Kong coastline of China is preparing for Usagi’s arrival on Sunday as a weakened storm with maximum sustained winds of 158 kph (98 mp).

In Hong Kong, a city rarely hit by typhoons, officials warned that the

storm posed a “severe threat,” urging residents to be ready for

strong winds and possible flooding

The provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian are expected

to be at high risk as Usagi gradually moves northwestward.

BENEFIT/COST OF BECOMING TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENTBENEFIT/COST OF BECOMING

TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENT

PREPAREDNESS, PROTECTION, EARLY WARNING, EM. RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

BUILDS RESILIENCE

1 < BENEFIT/COST < 1,000

PREPAREDNESS, PROTECTION, EARLY WARNING, EM. RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

BUILDS RESILIENCE

1 < BENEFIT/COST < 1,000

September 20-21

Impacts in The Philippines

ONLY 2 DEAD; MANY LEFT HOMELESS

MANILA: SIGNS OF USAGI’S APPROACH

USAGI: WIND AND WATER DAMAGE

USAGI: MUDSLIDES

USAGI: WIND DAMAGE

USAGI: WIND DAMAGE

USAGI: LAST MINUTE EVACUATIONS

USAGI: FLOODING

USAGI: A RESCUE

September 22

Impacts in Taiwan

No dead

TAIWAN: STORM SURGE

• Adding to the concern for loss of lives and property, a devastating storm surge of 3 to 5 m (10 to 18 feet) occurred along the southeastern coast simultaneously with heavy rain

HIGH TIDES

USAGI: AS A RAINMAKER

• In Taiwan, the storm system dumped more than 20 cm (8 inches) of rain along the eastern and southern coasts in a 13-hour period, causing officials to warn that a total rainfall of 100 cm (40) inches could happen before the storm leaves the region on Sunday.

TAIWAN: POWER OUTAGES

• More than 88,000 households were without electricity as of 5 p.m. yesterday, state-run Taiwan Power reported.

Impacts in China(Note: Usagi has weakened to the

equivalence of a CAT 2 hurricane)

Usagi will probably make landfall on the central-eastern coast of China’s Guangdong

province sometime between this afternoon and tomorrow

morning

A SIGN THAT USAGI IS APPROACHING

CREDIT

• Visitors take pictures of increasing waves under the influence of Typhoon Usagi in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, September 22, 2013.

• Credit: Reuters/Chance Chan

EVACUATIONS AND PRECAUTIONS

• More than 80,000 people were moved to safer ground in Fujian province,

• Authorities in Guangdong have asked more than 44,000 fishing boats to return to port.

HONG KONG: ANOTHER SIGN OF USAGI’S APPROACH

HONG KONG: SCHOOLS CLOSED

HONG KONG’s GROCERY STORES CROWDED

HONG KONG’s GROCERY STORE SHELVES

HONG KONG: WINDY, BUT NOT TOO BAD

HONG KONG: AIRLINE TRAVEL DISRUPTED

• Eighty flights cancelled.

• Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (293), Hong Kong’s largest airline, and its unit Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd. stopped Hong Kong operations through Sept. 23rd.

LANDFALLSunday, September 22

7:40 pm local time

GOOD NEWS:Typhoon Usagi veered away from Hong Kong at the last minute and made landfall 140 km (84 miles)

northeast of Hong Kong near Shanwei in the Guangdong

Province.

HONG KONG DODGED A BULLET: 7:40 PM SUNDAY NIGHT