Typhoon Melor

Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: October 8, 2009, 2:30:00 PM

Shortly after 2:00 am local time on Thursday, 8 October, Super Typhoon Melor made landfall in central Japan’s Aichi prefecture (population 7 million). It arrived as a weak Category 1 storm with sustained winds of about 119 kilometers per hour (74 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Melor’s winds and heavy rain—up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) in some regions—flooded roads, cut off electricity to hundreds of thousands of people, and blew off roof tiles. Even before Melor made landfall, heavy frontal precipitation (50 mm/hr) developed as the storm was undergoing extratropical transitioning. This frontal precipitation spawned several tornadoes in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo. As of the JTWC’s 11:00 UTC advisory today, Melor—now an extratropical storm—is about 213 kilometers (132 miles) east of Misawa, moving northeastward in the North Pacific Ocean at approximately 56 kilometers per hour (35 mph). Maximum sustained winds are 83 kph (52 mph). The storm has weakened considerably since landfall. Though Melor remained west of Tokyo as it tracked through Honshu, it still suspended transit in the city—stranding two million commuters during Thursday morning’s rush hour. The storm also forced the cancelation of more than 400 flights at Tokyo’s two major airports. Many factories were shut down in central Japan—the country’s manufacturing region. These included 12 of Toyota Motor Corporation’s car and car-part factories in Aichi prefecture. Production was also halted for a day at Honda Motor Corporation. In Aichi, Gifu and Shizuoka prefectures, Sony delayed the opening of four of its plants, though no damage was reported to its facilities. The storm also closed schools in Tokyo and Osaka. Two people were killed. In the regions most affected by Typhoon Melor, wood frame homes dominate residential construction. Many have heavy, clay tile roofs, meant to prevent damage from wind. At Melor’s windspeeds, these homes are expected to have minor roof damage and little or no structural damage. Larger multi-family apartment buildings, as well as commercial and industrial structures, are generally engineered and made of reinforced concrete or steel, making them less vulnerable to winds of Melor’s intensity. At Melor’s windspeeds, these structures would be expected to experience minor damage to roofs and siding, with minor to moderate damage to decorative elements and signage. Officials report that the storm did not result in the damage they had feared. Three days prior, Melor had been a much stronger Category 5 storm. However, its interaction with cooler waters and strong wind shear weakened it considerably before landfall early Thursday. Melor was downgraded to a tropical storm Thursday night before exiting off the northeastern coast of Honshu. Using the available meteorological parameters for Super Typhoon Melor, the AIR tropical cyclone team estimates that insured losses to onshore properties in Japan will be between JPY 75 billion (850 million USD) and JPY 130 billion (1.5 billion USD). AIR’s loss estimates for Japan reflect insured damage to property (residential, commercial, industrial) and contents. Selected scenarios including wind speed and loss maps have now been posted, and event sets are available for download.

Landfall | Downloads
Posting Date: October 8, 2009, 2:30:00 PM