Typhoon Morakot

Post Landfall 2 | Summary
Posting Date: August 10, 2009, 2:30:00 PM

As of 12:00 UTC this morning, Typhoon Morakot—now downgraded to a tropical storm—is located about 100 km (62 mi) west of Hangzhou, China, moving in a northerly direction at about 12 km/h (7.5 mph). According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Morakot is forecast to continue moving northward, before dissipating on its path to the Yellow Sea. Morakot—the fourth official typhoon of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season—made landfall in Taiwan's Hualien County late on Friday as a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 148 km/h (92 mph). Morakot, which dumped record rainfall over parts of the island, destroyed bridges and left 900,000 homes without power. Chiayi county in the south experienced the highest rainfall, with one location reporting 3,000 mm (118 inches) in 24 hours, according to the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau. The death toll in Taiwan for Morakot rose to 23 people Tuesday morning. Agricultural losses are expected to be significant with more than 43,000 hectares (166 sq. mi) of farmland reporting inundation. After leaving Taiwan, Morakot made a second landfall in mainland China's Zhejiang province on Sunday afternoon, bringing winds of 83 km/h (51 mph) and heavy rains. Six fatalities have been reported in China. Damage from Morakot has not been as extensive as anticipated. Even though Morakot was a Category 2 typhoon just hours prior to landfall, the influence of the Taiwan Central Mountain Range on winds as the storm came ashore was considerable. Using the AIR Taiwan Typhoon Model and the AIR China Typhoon Model and the latest available information about the meteorological parameters and precipitation accumulations for this storm, the AIR tropical cyclone team does not expect the insured losses to be significant.

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Posting Date: August 10, 2009, 2:30:00 PM