Typhoon Saudel

Typhoon Saudel, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pepito, was a typhoon which affected the Philippines, Vietnam and Southern China in October 2020. The seventeenth tropical storm and seventh typhoon of the 2020 Pacific typhoon season, Saudel formed from a tropical disturbance east of the Philippines. The disturbance gradually organized and crossed the Philippines as a tropical storm. Once the system emerged into the South China Sea, it began to rapidly organize and intensify, becoming a typhoon early on October 22.

Typhoon Saudel (Pepito)
Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 1 typhoon (SSHWS)
Typhoon Saudel in the South China Sea on October 23
FormedOctober 18, 2020
DissipatedOctober 25, 2020
Highest winds10-minute sustained: 120 km/h (75 mph)
1-minute sustained: 150 km/h (90 mph)
Lowest pressure975 hPa (mbar); 28.79 inHg
FatalitiesNone
Damage$15.2 million (2020 USD)
Areas affectedPhilippines, South China, Vietnam
Part of the 2020 Pacific typhoon season

Saudel flooded roads and buildings in the Philippines. It also struck Vietnam which has been devastated by flooding caused by a slew of tropical systems, though no damage was reported. Strong winds and high seas were recorded off the coast of Malaysia, prompting a tropical cyclone advisory. In Hainan, China, winds gusted up to 130 km/h (80 mph). Total damage from Saudel is estimated at more than $15 million.[1]

Meteorological history
Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale

At 15:00 UTC on October 16, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began tracking an area of convection, or thunderstorms, approximately 463 nautical miles (857 km) east-southeast of Palau.[2] On October 18 at 21:00 UTC, the PAGASA upgraded the system into a tropical depression, and named the system Pepito.[3] A few hours later, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) also recognized the system as a tropical depression,[4] and subsequently issued their first warning on the system.[5] As the system intensified while it approached Northern Luzon, the JMA upgraded the system into a tropical storm and named the system Saudel on October 20.[6] The PAGASA followed suit later that day.[7] Saudel made landfall over the San Ildefonso Peninsula in Casiguran, Aurora on October 20 at 13:00 UTC (21:00 PHT) and began crossing the Luzon Island, emerging over the West Philippine Sea hours later.[8][9] As the storm left the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the developing severe tropical storm was upgraded into a typhoon by the JMA, the JTWC, and by the PAGASA in their final bulletin for the system.[10][11][12] Saudel continued to gain strength gradually, and during 3:00 UTC on October 23, Saudel reached its peak intensity, with the JTWC estimating 1-min sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h), making the system a low-end category 2 typhoon,[13] and a pressure of 965 mbar was estimated by the JMA. However, the peak was short-lived, and at 9:00 UTC JTWC downgraded Saudel to a category 1 typhoon.[13] As it approached Vietnam, it began to rapidly weaken due to high vertical wind shear and was downgraded to a tropical storm on October 24, 2020.[13][14] The next day, it was downgraded to a remnant low as its center became mostly devoid of any deep convection.[15]

Preparations and impact

Philippines
Saudel making landfall in the Philippines on October 20

After the PAGASA declared Saudel a tropical storm, the agency issued Signal #2 tropical cyclone warnings in preparation for the storm's landfall.[16] Prior to making landfall, Signal #2 was raised in 10 provinces and in parts of 4 provinces.[17] In Quezon, many streets were flooded and people used boats for transport. A total of 6,000 people were evacuated.[18] 335 people were displaced in Aurora Province. Rain from Saudel caused the rise of water level in Binga Dam in Benguet Province, prompting authorities to release water from the facility.[19] In Quezon, numerous homes and schools were damaged. Heavy rains caused a concrete wall to collapse at the Siain Elementary School in Buenavista, Quezon. In addition, Sumulong Elementary School in Calauag town was again flooded, several days after Tropical Depression Ofel flooded the school. Rice fields were damaged from floods, and many farmers lost their crops.[20] Many bridges were impassable after the storm in the Cagayan Valley after Saudel hit.[21]

Immediately after the storm, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices conducted damage assessments. 13 towns and 36 barangays, and 457 families, with a total of 1,576 individuals were affected by the storm. At least 25 evacuation centers were open with 295 families or 935 individuals.[21] As of October 24, the NDRRMC has calculated a total damage of about ₱105.8 million (US$2.18 million).[22]

China

Saudel was the seventeenth storm to hit China or its territories this season. The storm brought strong winds on the Qiongzhou Strait, forcing ships to stop service at 05:00 UTC on October 23. All passenger trains to and from Hainan stopped running due to the storm.[23] The China Meteorological Administration issued a yellow alert, the third-highest level of alerts on its system, for Hainan.[24] A peak wind gust of 130 km/h (80 mph) was recorded in Hainan.[25] The storm, along with the seasonal monsoon, brought strong winds to Hong Kong.[26]

Elsewhere
See also: 2020 Central Vietnam floods

Vietnam was already dealing with severe flooding from tropical systems Linfa, Nangka, and Ofel.[25]

The storm also caused strong winds and rough seas over waters off the Malaysian state of Sabah where the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) had issued a tropical strom advisory with the distance between the storm and nearest town is about 1,315 kilometers northwest of Kudat.[27]

See also

References
  1. http://thoughtleadership.aon.com/documents/20201111_analytics-if-october-global-recap.pdf
  2. "Significant Tropical Weather Advisory for the Western and South Pacific Ocean". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 16, 2020. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  3. "Severe Weather Bulletin #8 on Tropical Depression "Pepito"" (PDF). PAGASA. October 18, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  4. "Tropical Cyclone Information". Japan Meteorological Agency. October 19, 2020. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  5. "Tropical Depression 19W (Nineteen) Warning No. 1". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 19, 2020. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  6. "Tropical Cyclone Information". Japan Meteorological Agency. October 20, 2020. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  7. "Severe Weather Bulletin #8 on Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)" (PDF). PAGASA. October 20, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  8. "Severe Weather Bulletin #12 for Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)". PAGASA. October 21, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  9. "Severe Weather Bulletin #15 for Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)" (PDF). PAGASA. October 21, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  10. "Tropical Cyclone Information". Japan Meteorological Agency. October 22, 2020. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  11. "Typhoon 19W (Saudel) Warning No. 13". United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 22, 2020. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  12. "Severe Weather Bulletin #19-FINAL for Typhoon "Pepito" (Saudel)" (PDF). PAGASA. October 22, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  13. "Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System Track File for Typhoon 22W (Saudel)". National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. October 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  14. "Prognostic Reasoning for Tropical Storm 19W (Saudel) Warning No. 21". United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 24, 2020. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  15. "Tropical Depression Saudel warning NR 028". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  16. "Severe Weather Bulletin #8 on Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)" (PDF). PAGASA. October 20, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  17. "Severe Weather Bulletin #12 for Tropical Storm 'Pepito' (Saudel)" (PDF). PAGASA. October 20, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  18. "Tropical Storm Saudel lashes Philippines, heads for Vietnam". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  19. http://floodlist.com/asia/philippines-tropical-storm-saudel-october-2020
  20. https://www.rappler.com/moveph/photos-tropical-storm-pepito-flood-several-parts-luzon
  21. https://www.ptvnews.ph/pepito-leaves-bridges-impassable-in-cagayan/
  22. "SitRep no. 05 re Preparedness Measures and Effects for TY PEPITO" (PDF). NDRRMC. October 24, 2020.
  23. https://www.beijingnews.net/news/266768511/typhoon-saudel-lashes-south-china
  24. https://www.taipeinews.net/news/266785678/china-re-yellow-alert-for-typhoon-saudel
  25. https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/tropical-storm-saudel-threatens-to-unleash-more-rain-across-flood-weary-vietnam/835156
  26. 香港天文台 (October 22, 2020). "天氣稿第113號－發出/取消熱帶氣旋警告信號" (in Chinese). Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  27. Kong, Joash (October 24, 2020). "MetMalaysia issues advisory on Saudel tropical storm". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.