Typhoon Haiyan Facts: Read About The Impact Of This Powerful Storm

Typhoon Haiyan, also known as Typhoon Yolanda, is considered one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded in the Philippines, leaving millions of people homeless and unemployed.

A tropical cyclone, often known as a typhoon, is a powerful circular storm that forms over warm tropical oceans and is marked by low air pressure, strong winds, and heavy rainfall. Typhoon Haiyan first hit the southeast Asia region in Palau and Micronesia, and later, Eastern Samar, Philippines.

After striking the Philippines, it weakened as it proceeded into the South China Sea, eventually dissolving into rain over Guanxi, China. Super Typhoon Haiyan poured over 19 in (48.26 cm) of rain across a broad range of the Philippines. This heavy rainfall, caused by storm surges, resulted in floods and landslides.

Cause Of Typhoon Haiyan

The Philippines is located near warm ocean water with sea temperatures exceeding 80.6 F (27 C) throughout the year. Rising sea levels due to global warming have had the greatest impact on the Pacific Ocean. The increasing sea levels caused larger storm surges.

Strong winds, or a change in wind speeds or directions as the altitude rises, split budding hurricanes apart and prevent them from strengthening. Since Haiyan originated in the open water, there was no landmass or strong winds to stop the formation of a symmetrical circular pattern, which aids cyclone formation.

This further caused the typhoon to take a destructive toll.

Impact And Effect Of Typhoon Haiyan

Typhoon Haiyan had a massive storm surge which resulted in the destruction of communication lines. It caused pronounced economic, social, and environmental impacts. Typhoon Haiyan's total economic effect is expected to be $5.8 billion.

Almost 6 million people lost their jobs as a result of the recession. The airport in Tacloban was seriously destroyed and posed a threat to the local economy, which was mainly based on exports and tourism. The fishing industry was also affected since all the equipment was destroyed by the tropical storm.

In the days following the storm, extensive looting occurred in the city of Tacloban due to a lack of immediate relief supplies. According to the Philippine government, around 175444 acres (71,000 ha) of cropland were damaged due to the tropical cyclone, impacting international trade and farmer earnings.

Power Barge 103 was knocked over by flooding, resulting in an oil spill that harmed mangrove habitats.

Destruction And Aftermath

The storm's strength increased as it approached Tacloban, with storm waves of up to 20 ft (6 m) hurling boats, collapsing buildings, and sweeping debris and people out to sea. Typhoon Haiyan claimed the lives of almost 7,000 people, over 6,000,000 individuals were relocated, leaving 1.9 million people homeless.

The Philippine government provided necessary hygiene kits and relief efforts. The main airport reopened three days after tropical cyclones, and emergency relief came. After a few weeks, power was restored in several areas.

The international governments showed humanitarian efforts by dispatching relief trucks full of critical supplies to millions of people in the Philippines. 33 countries and international organizations pledged assistance as recovery efforts, including rescue operations and a sum of $88.871 million. Within two weeks, one million food packs and 54992 gallons (250,000 l) of water were delivered.

Affected Areas

Typhoon Haiyan is also known as Typhoon Yolanda. It was a powerful and highly disastrous storm in the Northern Pacific Ocean in early November 2013 that hit Palau, Vietnam, the Philippines, and China.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center started monitoring a large low-pressure region around 265 mi (425 km) of Micronesia on November 2. Early on November 3, they designated the storm as a tropical depression.

On November 8, Haiyan hit Guiuan a city in the Philippines. According to UN officials, approximately 11 million people were affected, with millions being displaced. With winds of over 185 mi (298 km) per hour, Haiyan struck the city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte.

FAQs

Why was Haiyan so destructive?

Typhoon Haiyan is the worst storm on record. While still traveling over oceans, Haiyan has reached its maximum wind speed. The powerful front pushed a massive wall of seawater into coastal cities like Tacloban, believed to be 24.6 ft (7.5 m) high, which caused massive destruction.

Was the cause of typhoon Haiyan forecasted or predicted?

PAGASA issued several storm warnings before Haiyan made landfall. Windspeed and location were correctly predicted, with heavy rains leading to floods and landslides, as well as a storm surge.

On what day did super typhoon Haiyan hit land?

On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, made landfall in the Philippines.

How many people did Typhoon Haiyan affect?

More than 14 million people were affected by the storm.

What was the strongest storm ever?

According to Japan's Meteorological Agency, the system's one-minute sustained winds were estimated to be 195 mph (315 kph). By that criterion, Haiyan is the most powerful typhoon to ever hit land.

What kind of damage did Typhoon Haiyan cause?

About 6,111 people died as a result of Haiyan/Yolanda, with 1,779 still missing. A total of 16 million people were affected and 4 million people were relocated.

How many homes did Typhoon Haiyan destroy?

A total of 1.14 million homes were destroyed (550,928 totally, 589,404 partially). The overall economic losses are evaluated to be 12.9 billion US$(571.1 billion Pesos).