Typhoon Sepat

Post Landfall 1 | Summary
Posting Date: August 19, 2007, 10:30:00 AM

Packing sustained winds of 175 km/h and higher gusts, Typhoon Sepat made landfall near the eastern city of Ch'angpin, Taiwan at 5:40 AM local time on August 18. Sepat, which had been a Category 4 typhoon a day earlier, had weakened to Category 3 status by the time it reached the island. Winds further diminished to about 150 km/h as the storm made its way inland, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau. The strongest storm to affect Taiwan this year, Sepat knocked out power to more than 500,000 homes at one point, and 33,000 homes remain without power of this writing. One person was reported killed and another two dozen sustained injuries. Still, officials are breathing a sigh of relief that Sepat did not inflict as severe damage as had been expected. Although one house was reported to have collapsed in the northern port city of Keelung, most of the damage has been confined to roof coverings and other non-structural components. Downed trees, tree limbs and signage are littering roadways. Mudslides have also blocked some roads, disrupting transportation and making clean-up difficult. According to officials, however, the largest losses will be to crops. Nearly 2,000 people have been evacuated in mountain villages threatened by mudslides. Typhoon Sepat dumped significant rainfall amounts in mountainous regions in the east and northeast of the country. By 2:00 PM yesterday, some 727mm (28 inches) are reported to have fallen in Hualien County alone. No serious flooding has as yet been reported, however. After crossing Taiwan, Sepat headed for China’s Fujian province. At landfall, which occurred at about 2:00 AM local time on August 19, sustained winds had diminished to 119 km/h. In Quanzhou, more than 350 homes are reported to have sustained some damage, and in the city of Wenzhou 156 were destroyed by a tornado spawned by the storm. In Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, a train station collapsed. The death toll in China currently stands at 14. More than 900,000 people had been evacuated from China’s southeastern provinces before Sepat’s arrival and in anticipation of heavy flooding. Because of China’s unique topography, even weak wind typhoons can generate significant rainfall and flooding well away from the storm’s track. Earlier in August, rains brought by tropical storm Pabuk resulted in flooding that destroyed thousands of homes. Using information about the meteorological parameters of this storm, as well as rainfall accumulations, the AIR tropical cyclone team has run the Taiwan typhoon model. Because Sepat came ashore and crossed Taiwan along a path of relatively low exposures, and because take-up rates in Taiwan are relatively low, AIR does not expect large insured losses from this storm. The big uncertainties are the impacts of precipitation and of business interruption on commercial property. Nevertheless, AIR estimates that insured losses from Typhoon Sepat are unlikely to exceed USD 100 million (TWD 3.286 billion).

Post Landfall 1 | Downloads
Posting Date: August 19, 2007, 10:30:00 AM