SUPER TYPHOON USAGI
Headed Towards The Philippines,
Taiwan, and China
September 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.
CAUSES
OF RISK
WIND AND WATER
PENETRATE BUILDING
ENVELOPE
UPLIFT OF ROOF SYSTEM
FLYING DEBRIS PENETRATES
WINDOWS
SEVERE
WINDSTORMS
CASE HISTORIES
STORM SURGE AND HEAVY
PRECIPITATION
IRREGULARITIES IN
ELEVATION AND PLAN
POOR WORKMANSHIP
IGNORING NON-STRUCTURAL
ELEMENTS
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 RESILIENT
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.
LANDFALL
Sunday, 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