Typhoon Tembin

Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: August 24, 2012, 10:30:00 AM

Typhoon Tembin made landfall on the southern coast of Taiwan at 5:00 a.m. local time, August 24, (21:00 UTC on August 23) before quickly turning back to the sea. Accompanied by heavy rains, a central pressure of 960 millibars, and 10-minute sustained winds of 129 Kilometers per hour (80 mph) according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Tembin arrived onshore near rural Mudan township as a Category 1 typhoon. A few days ago, Tembin was forecast to move across Central Taiwan. However, the storm took a more southerly course and made landfall on a in a stretch of coast that is relatively sparsely populated, with coastal mountains separating the shore from the agriculture region further inland. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency’s (JMA) 13:00 UTC update on August 24, Tembin lost its strength as it passed over Taiwan's mountainous southern terrain and has been downgraded to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 111 km/h with gusts to 157 km/h (98 mph). Its center is currently located 180 miles southwest of Taipei and it is moving slowly at 8 km/h (5 mph). The Central Weather Bureau has issued a land warning for Changhua, Chiayi, Green Island, Hualien, Kaohsiung, Orchid Island, Penghu, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taitung and Yunlin. The Council of Agriculture's Soil and Water Conservative Bureau has issued 347 landslide yellow alerts in Kaohsiung City, and Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung counties.

Reported Damage

The storm had a notable impact on travel, communications, and businesses in areas in southern Taiwan. At Tembin’s approach, the government of Taiwan ordered the evacuation of thousands of people from mountainous, landslide-prone areas. More than 80 flights were cancelled and many schools were closed. Tembin has reportedly knocked out power to nearly 200,000 homes. Power outages, along with damage to infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and power and communications could lead to losses from the interruption of business activities. Tembin’s wind speeds are expected to have caused damage to roofs, awnings and signage. Low- to mid-rise buildings in Taiwan are typically of reinforced concrete or reinforced concrete frames with brick infill walls. The first story of these structures is used for commercial purposes with residential occupancy above. The mixed occupancy use in Taiwan makes the vulnerability of residential and commercial lines of business very similar. It should be noted that in the rural and mountainous regions near the landfall location, construction is of poorer quality and thus less wind resistant. The storm’s most significant threat was precipitation. Heavy rainfall from slow-moving Tembin (locally called Igme) caused some flash flooding and rivers to overflow. In the town of Hengchun in Pingtung county, precipitation accumulations reached over 600 millimeters—with 374 millimeters dropping under three hours—and totals of 625 millimeters have been reported in the town of Chechung. Flood waters which penetrate into residential and commercial can cause damage, primarily to the building’s contents. While farmers rushed to harvest crops ahead of the storm's arrival, agriculture damage is expected to be widespread. In particular, it has been estimated that a significant portion of the region’s rice crop could be lost.

Forecast and Intensity

Tembin is currently situated in an area of very weak steering currents, and little change in intensity is expected in the next 48 hours. The current forecast puts the storm on a southwest track before moving toward the east. Beyond that, Tembin may recurve to the northeast, impacting Taiwan again. There is a threat that Tembin may also interact with Typhoon Bolaven, passing to the northeast. As always, there is considerable uncertainty with respect to the future track and intensity of this storm. The AIR tropical cyclone team is closely monitoring this event and will provide additional information if warranted. However, AIR does not expect significant insured losses to onshore properties from Tembin’s pass across the southern tip of Taiwan.

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Posting Date: August 24, 2012, 10:30:00 AM