Typhoon Xangsane

Post Landfall 1 | Summary
Posting Date: September 29, 2006, 2:00:00 PM

Called the worst storm in 20 years by the Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Center (NDCC), Typhoon Xangsane brought winds of 166-231 km/h and heavy precipitation as it made its way across the Philippines on September 27-28. The storm reached the metropolitan Manila area at about 10:00 AM local time (02:00 GMT) on September 28, leaving parts of the capital waist-deep in flood waters. Schools and government offices in the city were closed in preparation for the storm, and remain so today. Financial markets were also closed, and the local commuter train system was shut down as a precaution. A combination of blackouts and debris caused significant traffic gridlock. As of 21:00 GMT on September 29, Xangsane (locally known as Milenyo) was located about 330 km east of Hue, Vietnam, and is moving northwest over the South China Sea at 22 km/h with sustained winds of 212 km/h and 259 km/h gusts. It is expected to reach the central Vietnamese coast by Sunday. In the Philippines, uprooted trees, roof damage, and downed power lines have been reported across the country—conditions that have significantly hampered rescue efforts in both urban and rural areas. Heavy rains caused widespread flooding in northern and central areas of the country. Coastal Albay province bore the brunt of the storm; the province lost water supply, electricity, or landline communications. Nearly 61,000 people have been displaced by floodwaters, with entire villages flooded or submerged in some provinces. Regional and provincial road travel has been cut by landslides and felled trees and electrical cables. Electricity on the main island of Luzon was completely lost for several hours; as of the morning of September 29, about 36% of the grid had been restored. The storm caused suspension of all air and sea travel along its track. The international airport at Manila was closed for about 3 hours, and a Coast Guard ban on sea travel left some 7,000 people stranded at ferry terminals. The last strong typhoon to affect Manila was Angela in 1995. First striking southern Luzon, Angela moved west and crossed the metro Manila area, making a direct hit on the capital with winds of 245 km/h. More than 600 people perished in the Philippines as a result of the storm. Unlike Xangsane, Angela was slow to develop, but ultimately it became one of the most intense typhoons of the decade when it peaked at an intensity of 285 km/h. Using the latest available information about the meteorological parameters and precipitation accumulations for this storm, the AIR tropical cyclone team has run simulations representing a variety of assumptions about the storm’s actual intensity and radius of maximum winds at landfall. Five of these are now posted on the Scenarios page of this website, where clients can view wind speed and loss maps. Events sets are available for download from the Events Sets page. Note that all losses are denoted in Philippine pesos (P).

Post Landfall 1 | Downloads
Posting Date: September 29, 2006, 2:00:00 PM