Typhoon Shanshan

Final Posting | Summary
Posting Date: September 19, 2006, 10:40:00 AM

Typhoon Shanshan, the 14th named storm of the Pacific cyclone season, made landfall near the city of Sasebo on Japan's main southern island of Kyushu on September 17 at 18:00 local time (09:00 UTC) as a Category 1 storm. Sustained winds were 144 km/h (90 mph), with gusts of 193 km/h (120 mph). Shanshan brought 6 m (20 ft) waves to areas of Kyushu and Chugoku, as well as torrential rains that triggered flash floods and landslides across southern Japan. Remaining over land for approximately 4 hours, Shanshan reportedly killed 9 people and injured 328. The storm cut off power to 400,000 households in Japan and 4,000 in South Korea. Winds overturned an empty car ferry and an express train, and caused the cancellation of 300 flights. Train service on Kyushu was halted. Seventy-four houses were reported completely destroyed, with an additional 2,000 partially destroyed. Shashan is now located over the Sea of Japan and has been downgraded to a tropical storm. It is still producing heavy waves throughout the Sea of Japan coast, as well as heavy rains in central, eastern, and northern Japan. At its peak, Shanshan was designated a Category 4 "super typhoon," curving between Taiwan and Okinawa with sustained winds exceeding 210 km/h (130 mph). A gust of 250 km/h (155 mph) was recorded on the remote island of Iriomote (near Okinawa), the strongest wind gust ever observed there. The Japan Meteorological Agency expects Shanshan to cross the northern coast of the island of Hokkaido tonight or tomorrow morning, potentially bringing strong tropical storm force winds. The AIR tropical cyclone team has run simulations using the latest information about the meteorological parameters of Shanshan. Results indicate that insured losses should not exceed JPY60 billion.

Final Posting | Downloads
Posting Date: September 19, 2006, 10:40:00 AM