Typhoon Durian

Final Posting | Summary
Posting Date: December 1, 2006, 11:05:00 AM

The eye of Super Typhoon Durian made landfall over the eastern Philippine province of Catanduanes yesterday, 370 km east of Manila. Maximum sustained winds at landfall reached 231 kph. As of 15:00 UTC, December 1, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), put Durian at 278 km WSW of Manila, over the South China Sea, with maximum sustained winds of 148 kph and gusts up to 185 kph. Typhoon-force winds extend approximately 55 km outward from the storm’s eye. At its height, Durian produced sustained winds up to 250 kph, with 300 kph gusts. Reported rainfall amounts ranged from 200 to 300 mm. Durian’s heavy rainfall triggered landslides on Mount Mayon, the Philippines’ most active volcano, which buried at least three and possibly 8 villages at the volcano’s base. The Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Center (NDCC) has put the landslide death toll at 198; an additional 260 people are missing. Mudflows up to two stories deep have been reported. Across the Bicol region, the storm triggered floods, uprooted trees, blew roofs off or destroyed houses, and caused widespread power outages due to downed power lines. Local television stations have reported initial infrastructure damage estimates of up to 1 billion Philippine pesos (USD 20 million). NDCC estimates that approximately 25,000 people have been affected by flooding across Durian’s path; 14,000 people were evacuated to shelters in seven provinces of southern Luzon. Officials note that Durian was more damaging because it came ashore in Catanduanes, an island province with no mountains to break the storm’s momentum. Initially forecast to strike Manila, the storm instead crossed the southern Luzon peninsula before entering the Ragay Gulf, then swept across the Bondoc peninsula into Tayabas Bay southeast of Manila. From there Durian entered the South China Sea. Strong winds hit the capital on Friday, but no casualties have been reported. JTWC’s latest forecast indicates that Durian will continue to weaken as colder air mixes into the storm. It is forecast to make a second landfall in Vietnam on December 4. The AIR tropical cyclone team has conducted simulations of Durian based on the latest available meteorological data for the storm. Because of low insurance take-up rates in the affected region, AIR estimates that insured property losses from Durian are not likely to exceed PHP 3.25 billion (USD 65 million).

Final Posting | Downloads
Posting Date: December 1, 2006, 11:05:00 AM