Typhoon Chebi

Final Posting | Summary
Posting Date: November 13, 2006, 11:30:00 AM

For the second time in as many weeks, a severe typhoon has struck the Philippines. Typhoon Chebi made landfall on the island of Luzon early on the morning of Saturday, November 11, just south of where Typhoon Cimaron made landfall two weeks ago. Maximum sustained winds at landfall reached 195 kph. Maximum recorded rainfall ranged from 101 to 178 mm, depending on location. As of 15:00 UTC, November 13, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), put Chebi at 852 km southeast of Hanoi, Vietnam, with maximum sustained winds of 102 kph and gusts up to 130 kph. JTWC notes that Chebi is weakening rapidly, and is expected to dissipate in the next 72 hours, after making a second landfall in Vietnam. Chebi -- the Korean word for "swallow" -- displaced about 8,300 people (most of whom were evacuated the night before the storm made landfall), injured 9 and killed 1. The town of Casiguran, located 220 km northeast of Manila on the eastern coast of central Luzon, bore the brunt of the storm, with two houses destroyed, a dozen others damaged, and eight people injured from fallen trees. Landslides and floods cut off road access to Casiguran, Dinapigue (a town heavily damaged by Typhoon Cimaron), and other regions of the northern Philippines. Many major dams reached critical levels due to flood-swollen rivers, but no breaches have been reported. Civil defense officials noted that most of the storm's floodwaters had receded by Sunday afternoon, but that rice crops in some areas were damaged. The Philippines are experiencing an active typhoon season. Chebi is the fourth major named storm to cross the islands in 2006, following Cimaron (10/29), Xangsane (9/27), and Chanchu (5/12). Cimaron, which took a similar track across Luzon, dropped 50 percent more rain, triggering severe flash floods and landslides. Xangsane, thought to have been the worst storm to strike the country in 20 years, also triggered widespread flooding and landslide activity, causing major structural and infrastructural damage and killing 230 people. Fourteen named storms have now made landfall in the Northwestern Pacific this year. The AIR tropical cyclone team has run simulations using the latest meteorological information on Chebi. Because of the affected area's sparse population and low insurance take-up rates, AIR estimates that insured losses from this storm will be minimal.

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Posting Date: November 13, 2006, 11:30:00 AM