THE 2012 WESTERN PACIFIC TYPHOON SEASON

As of September 20, 2012

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

THE FORECAST FOR THE 2012 PACIFIC TYPHOON SEASON

An above average season was forecast in expectation of El Nino’s impacts in the Pacific.

Significant impacts were expected, as usual, in the Philippines, China, and Japan.

STORM TRACKS AS OF SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

PRE-SELECTED NAMES FOR 2012

• PAKHAR – March 27

• MARWAR – May 31-June 6

• TALIM – June 8

• DOKSURI – June 25-30

• VICENTE – July 24-25

• SAOLA – July 28

• DAMREY – August 1

PRE-SELECTED NAMES FOR 2012

• HAIKUI – August 6

• KIROGI – August 9

• TAI-TAK – August 16

• TEMBIN – August 18

• BOLAVEN – September 4

• SAMBA – September 12

• JELAWAT – September 20

CONSECUTIVE INPACTS IN CHINA: JULY-SEPTEMBER

• Consecutive tropical storms/typhoons (Vicente, Talim, Saola, Damrey, Haikui, Kai-Tak, Talem, and Bolaven ) left at least 51 died, displaced over 4.1 million people, and caused direct economic losses exceeding 65.57 billion yuan (10.36 billion USD).

STORM TRACKS OF NOTABLE STORMS OF THE

2012 SEASON

TROPICAL STORM PAKHAR: VIETNAM; MARCH 24 – APRIL 2

TROPICAL STORM MAWAR: PHILIPPINES.; MAY 31-JUNE 6

GUCHOL: 1ST TYPHOON OF SEASON: JUNE 19, 2012

As of August 22, 15 typhoons had formed in the

northwest Pacific Ocean and south China Sea, six of

which made landfall in China, more than twice as

many as in 2011.

GUCHOL: A CAT I STORM

• Guchol caused heightened concerns for safety at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, damaged earlier in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

GUCHOL: A RAINMAKER

• High waves, heavy rain (9 cm/hr) and strong winds impacted the south coast of Honshu as far east as Nagoya and the Izu peninsula, southwest of Tokyo.

• Evacuation advisory issued for 10,000 residents.

TROPICAL STORM TALIM: CHINA; JULY 8, 2012

TROPICAL STORM DOKSURI: JUNE 25-30

DOKSURI IMPACTED THE PHILIPPINES, TAIWAN, AND CHINA

• Over $54 million in wind and water damage.

VICENTE: A CAT 4 STORM

• After landfall in Guangdong, China on July 24th, Vincente became a rainmaker across China

TYPHOON VINCENTE CAUSES RECORD FLOODING IN BEIJING,

CHINA AREA

JULY 24-25, 2012

VICENTE’S PATH ENROUTE TO GUONGDONG, CHINA

VICENTE

VICENTE: A CAT 4 STORM WITH A REGIONAL IMPACT

• After landfall on July 24th in Guangdong, China, Vicente became a big rainmaker, causing regional flooding in diverse places like Beijing (the capitol) and Hong Kong.

VINCENTE CAUSES FLOODING IN BEIJING

BEIJING-HONG KONG-MACAO EXPRSSWAY; JULY 24, 2012

BEIJING-HONG KONG-MACAO EXPRSSWAY; CLEANING UP

BEIJING-HONG KONG-MACAO EXPRSSWAY: CLEANING UP

SOLDIERS WITH SANDBAGS: FANGSHAN DISTRICT

Vicente’s flooding was devastating in spite of flood

control measures added since the 1940’s: dams, 280 000 km of embankments, 86 000 reservoirs, and 97 flood

retention areas

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

• Worst deluge in 61 years

• One day of rainfall in the Beijing area (18 inches) was equal to 6 months of normal rainfall

• 100 dead; 38 in Beijing area

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

• $1.6 billion in urban damage

• 57,000 forced from homes

• Over 12,000 hectares of agricultural food crops impacted,

TYPHOON SAOLA: JULY 28

TYPHOON DAMREY: AUGUST 1

TYPHOON HAIKUI: AUGUST 6

SEVERE TROPICAL STORM KIROGI: AUGUST 9

TYPHOON TAI-TAK (HELEN): AUGUST 15

Typhoon Kai-Tak left three people dead, one person missing and forced over

111,500 people to evacuate their homes in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang

autonomous region.

TYPHOON TEMBIN: AUGUST 18

Tembin’s path was unusual as the result of Bolaven’s

concurrent presence, but its heavy rains and high winds

caused considerable damage in Taiwan.

TYPHOON BOLAVEN: SEPTEMBER 4

TYPHOON BOLAVEN: SOUTH KOREA

• The most violent storm to hit South Korea in a decade hit on Monday and by late Tuesday had left at least 10 people dead and knocked out power to about 1.2 million households

TYPHOON BOLAVEN: NORTH KOREA

• Typhoon Bolaven killed at least 48 people in North Korea, destroyed 6,700 homes, damaged 124,000 acres of crops, knocked down 16,730 trees, and damaged 880 industrial and public buildings.

•

TYPHOON BOLAVEN: CHINA

• Typhoon Bolaven triggered heavy flooding in China's northeastern region, driving thousands from their homes.

•

TYPHOON SANBA: GUAM; SEPTEMBER 12

SANBA: A SUPER TYPHOON, ENTOUTE TO LANDFALL ON KOREAN PINUNSULA

JAPAN: IMPACTS OF SANBA

• Heavy rain and high velocity winds impacted southwestern Japan.

• The rain caused flooding and landslides.

• 67,000 homes in Japan lost power.

SANBA: LANDFALL IN S. KOREA AS A CAT 3 TYPHOON; SEPT. 16

SANBA: LANDFALL IN S. KOREA; SEPT. 16

SANBA’S WAVES

SANBA’S WAVES

SANBA’S WAVES SOUTH OF SEOUL

SANBA MAKES LANDFALL IN SOUTH KOREA: SEPT 16

• Sanba made landfall in the southern port of Yeosu shortly before midday (0300 GMT), Sunday, packing winds of around 137 kilometres (85 miles) per hour.

S. KOREA: FLOODING FROM SANBA’S TORRENTIAL RAINS

S. KOREA: A SANBA-GENERATED LANDSLIDE

S. KOREA: A SANBA-GENERATED LANDSLIDE

S. KOREA: IMPACTS OF SANBA

• Sanba pounded the South Korean island of Jeju overnight Sunday, leaving 10,000 homes without power and damaging roads.

• Flights and services were shut down throughout South Korea.

S. KOREA: IMPACTS OF SANBA

• Heavy rains across the country triggered landslides that killed a 53-year-old woman in the southeastern county of Seongju and injured two people in nearby Gyeongju City,

• 26, 000 left without power.

N. KOREA: IMPACTS OF SANBA

• North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, experienced strong winds, but was spared the heavy rains that lashed the South Korean capital and drenched parts of North Korea, including the eastern coastal city of Wonsan.

TROPICAL STORM JELAWAT:EAST OF GUAM: SEPT. 20