Tropical Storm Pabuk

Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: August 21, 2001, 4:00:00 AM

Tropical Storm Pabuk made landfall at about 6:00 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, August 21, in the western prefecture of Wakayama, Japan. It was the first major tropical storm to hit the main Japanese island of Honshu in two years. A drop in reported wind speeds before landfall led meteorologists to downgrade Pabuk from Typhoon to Tropical Storm. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported wind speeds at the time of landfall of between 63 and 70 mph (100 - 113 km/h). The storm crossed the coastline somewhat earlier and further to the west than projected yesterday as a result both of an increase in forward speed and a belated turn to the north. The storm is currently tracking northward at about 9 mph (15 km/h). A rapid weakening of the system is expected as the storm crosses Honshu. Numerous trains and flights were cancelled as Pabuk made landfall and at least two deaths have been attributed to the storm thus far. Heavy rains have led to some landslides and to the evacuation of some 7,000 people in Wakayama Prefecture as fears were raised about the integrity of a dam there. Flooding has washed out several roads. Because the storm had weakened considerably prior to landfall, however, AIR expects that insured losses will not exceed 5 billion JPY. This number results from new simulations based on information about the storm's intensity at landfall and on a range of projections about the storm’s future course. It should be noted that loss estimates include wind damage only; they do not include losses due to flooding. There is still uncertainty about the actual meteorological parameters of this storm, even at landfall, and estimates of intensity from different sources can sometimes conflict in the early aftermath of the event. However, unless significant new information comes to light, this will be the last posting on Tropical Storm Pabuk.

Landfall | Downloads
Posting Date: August 21, 2001, 4:00:00 AM