 Typhoon Maria at peak intensity on July 8 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 3, 2018 |
| Dissipated | July 12, 2018 |
| Violent typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 195 km/h (120 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 915hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg |
| Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 270 km/h (165 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 910hPa (mbar); 26.87 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 2 total |
| Damage | $637 million (2018USD) |
| Areas affected | Mariana Islands,Ryukyu Islands,Taiwan,China |
IBTrACS | |
Part of the2018 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Maria, known in thePhilippines asTyphoon Gardo, was a powerfultropical cyclone that affectedGuam, theRyukyu Islands,Taiwan, andEast China in early-July 2018. Developing into the eighth named tropical storm of the2018 Pacific typhoon season and passing theMariana Islands on July 4, Maria strengthened into the fourth typhoon of the season and underwentrapid intensification the next day amid favorable environmental conditions. The typhoon reached its first peak intensity on July 6; subsequently, Maria weakened due to aneyewall replacement cycle, but it reintensified and reached a second, stronger peak intensity on July 9 with10-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (121 mph) and a minimum pressure of 915 hPa (mbar; 27.02 inHg). Over the next three days, it started to gradually weaken due to another eyewall replacement cycle and decreasingsea surface temperatures. After crossing theYaeyama Islands and passing north ofTaiwan on July 10, Maria ultimately madelandfall overFujian, China, early on July 11, before dissipating the next day.
Early in its lifetime, Maria brought winds of tropical storm force to Guam, damaging aircraft atAnderson Air Force Base and knocking out power across the island. Damage in Guam was valued atUS$150,000.[nb 1] On July 10, Maria brought strong winds toOkinawa Prefecture, inflicting significant crop damage. Losses in the prefecture reachedJP¥853.7 million (US$7.730 million).[nb 2] Simultaneously, Maria produced heavy rains and strong winds across Taiwan, killing one and injuring eight. Power to nearly 60,000 households was cut and agricultural damage was aroundNT$1.3 million (US$43,000). From landfall to dissipation, Maria impacted the Chinese provinces of Fujian,Zhejiang,Jiangxi, andHunan with flooding rain and gusty winds. At least 510,000 people in coastal regions evacuated and one person was killed in Jiangxi. Around 9,300 houses and over 37,000hectares (91,000acres) of cropland were damaged. Schools and workplaces were closed in parts of Fujian and more than 200 flights were cancelled. Train and ferry services were also disrupted. Power outages were widespread in Fujian, where more than 320,000 customers lost power. Economic losses across China were aboutCN¥4.16 billion (US$629 million).
Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depressionOn July 3, theJapan Meteorological Agency (JMA) declared that atropical depression had formed at 00:00 UTC about 500 km (310 mi) southeast ofGuam.[2][nb 3] The broad system tracked northwest around a region of highatmospheric pressure to its north as it began to consolidate,[4] with the United States-basedJoint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) determining that the system had become a tropical depression at 12:00 UTC.[5] Amid rather favorable environmental conditions encompassing highsea surface temperatures of 30–31 °C (86–88 °F), low-to-moderatewind shear, and wind patterns in the uppertroposphere aiding the development ofthunderstorm activity,[6] the system intensified modestly, with the JTWC assessing that it became a tropical storm at 00:00 UTC on July 4.[5] Twelve hours later, the JMA stated that the depression had become a tropical storm andnamed the systemMaria.[2] On July 5, Maria began torapidly intensify as it developed aneye feature.[7] Thesatellite presentation of the cyclone improved drastically over the next 24 hours, with the eye contracting to a diameter of 20 km (12 mi). The JTWC assessed that Maria became a super typhoon at 00:00 UTC on July 6,[nb 4][9] possessingmaximum sustained winds of 250 km/h (160 mph).[5][nb 5] Immediately after, Maria began to undergo aneyewall replacement cycle, withmicrowave satellite imagery revealing that a new eyewall had developed and encircled the original eyewall.[11] The JMA, however, assessed that Maria continued to strengthen to reach an initial peak intensity at 12:00 UTC with winds of 195 km/h (121 mph) and a central pressure of 925 hPa (mbar; 27.32 inHg).[2]
Some weakening took place on July 7 as Maria went through the eyewall replacement cycle, with the JTWC assessing that Maria had dropped below super typhoon strength.[5] A developinghigh-pressure area to Maria's northwest caused the system's forward motion to decrease while the inner eyewall dissipated and the outer eyewall began to contract.[12] However, Maria did not immediately restrengthen as upper-level wind patterns temporarily became unfavorable.[13] More substantial reintensification occurred on July 8 as Maria began to accelerate northwest once again and the system regained super typhoon strength at 00:00 UTC.[14] The JTWC judged Maria to have reached its peak intensity at 12:00 UTC on July 8 with winds of 270 km/h (170 mph), equivalent to Category 5 status on theSaffir–Simpson scale.[5] Displaying a well-defined eye 37 km (23 mi) wide, the system maintained an impressive satellite presentation into July 9,[15] when the JMA estimated Maria reached peak intensity with winds of 195 km/h (121 mph) and a minimum pressure of 915 hPa (mbar; 27.02 inHg).[2]
Late on July 9, Maria developed concentric eyewalls once again, indicating another eyewall replacement cycle was underway. Combined with decreasingupper oceanic heat content along the cyclone's path, Maria began to weaken steadily as it turned to the west-northwest.[16] At 21:00 UTC on July 9, Maria entered thePhilippine Area of Responsibility and received the local nameGardo.[17] As the system passed north ofTaiwan on July 10, frictional effects with the island's mountains as well as increasing northerly wind shear further weakened the cyclone.[18] At 01:10 UTC on July 11, Maria madelandfall over theHuangqi Peninsula [zh] ofLianjiang County,Fuzhou inFujian,China.[19] At the time, the system possessed 10-minute sustained winds of 155 km/h (96 mph) and 1-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (109 mph). Rapid weakening took place once Maria moved inland, with the storm degrading to a tropical depression by 18:00 UTC. The remnant system continued inland and dissipated overHubei before 00:00 UTC on July 13.[5][2]
Maria damaged a number ofKC-135 aircraft inAndersen Air Force Base when passing nearGuam as a tropical storm on July 5.[20] The air base recorded an unusually high wind gust of 154 km/h (96 mph) associated with the passage of amesoscale convective vortex and an embeddedhot tower—features that often support rapid intensification of tropical cyclones.[21] Several flights to and from the island were cancelled.[22] An islandwide power outage occurred on July 5 after gusty winds downed power lines, and the localweather radar was knocked out. Damage on the island was estimated at US$150,000.[23]
As a weakening typhoon, Maria made adirect hit onMiyakojima,Okinawa Prefecture, on July 10.[24] On that day, schools in Miyakojima were closed,[25] while flights to and fromMiyako Airport andNew Ishigaki Airport were cancelled. Ferry services connecting Miyakojima andIshigaki Island with the surrounding islands were suspended for ten days.[26] Thesugarcane crop suffered severe wind damage, with some fields in Miyakojima reporting that up to 70 percent of their crops had been damaged.[27] Total damage in Okinawa Prefecture was about JP¥853.7 million (US$7.730 million), of which nine-tenths came from the sugarcane crop. Other crops affected included pineapple, mango,millet, andokra. Damage to infrastructure was limited, reaching JP¥6.75 million (US$61,100) inKumejima.[28]
As Maria passed north of Taiwan, heavy rain and gusty winds impacted the island. Workplaces and schools were closed on July 10 and resumed operations on July 11. Services along theTaiwan High Speed Rail were interrupted by the adverse weather conditions.[29][30] TheForestry Bureau closed 14 national forest recreational areas from July 10 to 12.[31] A man inNew Taipei City sustained fatal head injuries after losing his balance when inspecting his house.[32] Seven men and a woman were injured in northern Taiwan by falling branches. Strong winds caused 59,485 households to lose power, though the situation was mostly resolved by July 11. Agricultural damage in Taiwan was valued at NT$1.3 million (US$43,000).[33] The typhoon also eroded away part ofHuaping Islet, causing its shape to now resemble atwo-humped camel instead of aone-humped camel.[34]
Ahead of Typhoon Maria, authorities initiated evacuations in coastal parts ofFujian andZhejiang provinces. By July 11, at least 226,600 people were evacuated in Fujian,[35] while in Zhejiang, about 390,000 people were moved to safety, including 270,000 people fromWenzhou. In both provinces, fishing boats were ordered to return to port; thePort of Xiamen received 851 vessels, while 25,000 boats sought shelter in Zhejiang. Offshore fish farms in Fujian were closed and over 27,600 workers returned to shore. Ferry services betweenXiamen andKinmen were suspended. At least 200 train services in and out of Fujian were halted, while 206 flights to and from Zhejiang were cancelled. Across Fujian, 7,865 schools were closed and works at 4,439 construction sites were stopped. InFuzhou, the provincial capital of Fujian, all schools and factories were closed on July 11.[36][37][38] InJiangxi province, authorities evacuated over 1,100 people, closed 21 tourist attractions, and suspended passenger transport services to Fujian and Zhejiang.[39]
Upon landfall inLianjiang County on July 11, Typhoon Maria became the strongest July typhoon to make landfall in Fujian.[19] Maria brought heavy rains and gusty winds to Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, andHunan, affecting 1.424 million people and causing direct economic losses of CN¥4.16 billion (US$629 million). A peak rainfall total of 313 mm (12.3 in) was recorded atLishui, Zhejiang, while a peak gust of 59.3 m/s (213 km/h; 133 mph) was observed at Sansha inXiapu County, Fujian. Storm surge from Maria combined with the astronomical high tide to create tides exceeding warning levels by up to 0.93 m (3.1 ft). A tide gauge at Shacheng inFuding, Fujian observed a record high tide of 4.4 m (14 ft) above mean sea level.[40] Across Fujian and Zhejiang, about 37,300hectares (92,000acres) of cropland suffered damage, of which 2,500 hectares (6,200 acres) was completely destroyed. About 800 people in Zhejiang were rescued by emergency services, and 200 houses were damaged to varying degrees. In Fujian, 8,800 houses were damaged and another 300 were destroyed.[19] Widespread power outages occurred in Fujian: over 86,000 customers in Lianjiang County and another 240,000 customers in Fuzhou lost power. Knee-deep flooding occurred in some residential areas in Fuzhou, where the police deployed 1,623 personnel to assist in flood control efforts. Fujian's water infrastructure suffered CN¥76 million (US$11 million) worth of damage.[35] Communications in Fujian were severely disrupted, with 2,901base stations taken offline and 315 km (196 mi) ofnetworking cables damaged according to theMinistry of Industry and Information Technology. Authorities deployed 11,000 personnel across the province to conduct repairs.[41] InNingde, direct economic losses reached CN¥959 million (US$145 million). At least 40 houses in the city collapsed and 184 businesses were shut.[42][35] Around 2,000 trees in Ningde were damaged by strong winds.[43] InJi'an, Jiangxi, the typhoon affected more than 24,200 people, damaged 1,703 hectares (4,210 acres) of cropland, and caused CN¥13.61 million (US$2.060 million) in losses. A person inJi'an County was killed by a tree that was felled by the typhoon's winds.[44]
Tropical cyclones of the2018 Pacific typhoon season | ||
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