6. Super Typhoon HAITANG (Feria/05w) 
>> July 10-20, 2005
Haitang: contributed by China, is a Chinese flowering crabapple tree; also a Chinese flowering temple
A. Introduction & Storm Origins
Developing from a TUTT-induced disturbance deep within the subtropics, Haitang went on to become the Northwest Pacific basin's first super typhoon of the year, reaching a maximum intensity of 140 kts. Haitang made landfall on Taiwan as a weakening tropical cyclone but still came ashore as a major typhoon with a MSW of 105 kts. From there, it moved into China barely at typhoon intensity, the first tropical cyclone to affect the Asian mainland of 2005.
Super Typhoon Haitang originated from an area of deep convection that was located under the diffluent region of a TUTT cell approximately 760 nm east of Iwo Jima. It was first mentioned in JTWC's STWO at 1800 UTC 10 July when animated satellite imagery indicated a weak LLCC associated with the disturbance. Drifting slowly west through a light to moderate wind shear environment, the system developed rapidly and became the subject of a TCFA at 11/0300 UTC. The first warning became valid at 11/1200 UTC, placing the centre of Tropical Depression 05W approximately 600 nm east of Iwo Jima. It was upgraded to a tropical storm at 11/1800 UTC and named Haitang six hours later when JMA raised their MSW to 35 kts.
B. Track & Intensity History
Tropical Storm Haitang remained a weak system on 12 July as it drifted slowly towards the west-northwest at 5 to 8 kts. A HIGH centred south of Japan was the primary steering influence, guiding the tropical cyclone on a gentle, curving track across the Northwest Pacific. Tracking west-southwestward, Haitang strengthened into a 70-kt typhoon at 1800 UTC 13 July while located approximately 320 nm southeast of Iwo Jima. Turning towards the west, Haitang continued to steadily intensify on 14 July, its forward speed accelerating to around 19 kts. By the time the typhoon entered the Philippine AOR at 15/0600 UTC, the MSW had increased to 100 kts, and PAGASA assigned the name Feria. Strengthening continued on 15 July, and Haitang/Feria was upgraded to a super typhoon, the first of the year, while located approximately 405 nm south- southeast of Okinawa. The system reached its peak intensity of 140 kts at 16/1200 UTC while veering onto a west-northwesterly heading. At this time, water vapor imagery revealed a large, cloud-free eye and strong radial outflow. Haitang maintained an intensity of 140-kts for the rest of 16 July as it began to bear down on the island of Taiwan.
Super Typhoon Haitang began to weaken and was downgraded to a 125-kt typhoon at 0600 UTC 17 July approximately 255 nm southeast of Taipei, Taiwan. After changing onto a northwesterly course, Haitang's heading swung back to the west, and the typhoon made landfall near Hualein, located 85 nm south of Taipei, at 18/0000 UTC with a MSW of 105 kts. Once inland, the system rapidly became disorganized, and after almost stalling over the mountains of central Taiwan, Haitang slowly staggered the rest of the way across the island, re-emerging back over water as a 60-kt tropical storm at 18/1800 UTC. Moving west-northwestward, Haitang regained typhoon intensity (65-kts) at 19/0000 UTC over the Taiwan Strait. Turning north-northwestwards, the tropical cyclone rapidly deteriorated and made landfall near Fuzhou, China, as a weakening 40-kt tropical storm around 19/1200 UTC. At this time, both JTWC and JMA issued their final warnings.
NMCC's peak wind estimate was 130 kts (10 min avg), the highest of all the Asian agencies. Both JMA and PAGASA estimated a peak intensity of 105 kts; the lowest CP estimated by JMA was 915 mb. The highest MSW estimated by the CWB of Taiwan and HKO were 110 kts and 100 kts, respectively.
A graphic displaying the track of Super Typhoon Haitang may be found at the following link: 2005_05W_HAITANG.jpg
C. Damage & Casualties
At least twelve people were reported to have died as a result of Haitang. All of the deaths occurred on Taiwan; there were no reports of casualties in mainland China. Over one million people were evacuated from the Chinese provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang before the storm hit.
(NOTE: According to information from Huang Chunliang of Fuzhou City, there were 5 deaths attributed to Haitang on the Chinese mainland. See Section D-Part V below. Also, some of the damage figures in Chunliang's report differ from those given in the following two paragraphs, which were obtained from various international press sources.)
Haitang's torrential rains caused heavy flooding. In Cangnan County in Zhejiang Province, China, more than 300 people were trapped in their homes by floodwaters, which reached more than 3.3 feet (one metre), before being rescued. The county suffered power blackouts, cut water supplies, and power blackouts. The city of Wenzhou was also badly affected by the flooding. The Wenzhou Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters reported that 2,612 houses were destroyed and 16,700 hectares of crops were damaged. City officials said Haitang caused an economic loss of 2.16 billion yuan (261 million US dollars).
Haitang battered Taiwan with typhoon-force winds and torrential rains, wreaking havoc on the island. Haitang dumped more than 12 inches (305 mm) of rain across northern Taiwan, forcing airports, schools, government offices and financial markets to close. Transportation was badly affected with 90% of international flights cancelled and all domestic transport suspended. Strong winds disrupted power supplies with around 1.4 million households left without electricity. Around 1,500 people in northern Taiwan were evacuated from remote mountainous villages. The floodwaters washed away homes, roads, bridges, and decimated over 15,400 hectares of farmland, causing crop losses of nearly 30%. Haitang caused a total of T$2.97 billion (US$93 million) of damage to agriculture.
D. Huang Chunliang Report from China
{Part I} Landfalls ================== According to the CWB warnings, Severe Typhoon 0505 (HAITANG) made landfall in Taiwan Island near Tungao, Ilan County, around 18/0650 UTC with a MSW of 51 m/s (100 kts) and a CP of 925 hPa after making a counter-clockwise loop offshore east of Hualien. (The NMCC track also described such a loop, despite the fact that the western part of the loop was drawn overland near the coastline, i.e., NMCC stated that the typhoon made its first landfall near Hualien around 18/0000 UTC with a MSW of 55 m/s (110 kts) and a CP of 930 hPa before completing the 7-hr loop around 18/0600 UTC and making a second landfall near Ilan around 18/0650 UTC with a MSW of 45 m/s (90 kts) and a CP of 940 hPa.) The typhoon then entered the waters of Taiwan Strait from Houlong, Miaoli County, around 18/1400 UTC. According to the NMCC warnings, Typhoon 0505 (HAITANG) made landfall near Huangqi Town, Lianjiang County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, around 19/0910 UTC with a MSW of 33 m/s (65 kts) and a CP of 975 hPa. {Part II} Meteorological Obs from Taiwan Province ================================================= NOTE: To convert from metres/second (m/s) to kts, divide m/s by 0.51444, or for a close approximation, simply double the m/s value. 1. Peak Sustained Wind & Gust Obs --------------------------------- Only those stations that reported sustained winds of gale force or gusts of typhoon force are given: Peak SW Peak Gust Station (mps/Local Date) (mps/Local Date) -------------------------------------------------------------------- An Bu (WMO46691) 19.1/18th 42.0/18th Taipei (WMO46692/58968, Alt 9m) 13.4/18th 37.6/18th Keelung (WMO46694, Alt 3m) 20.3/18th 36.5/18th Hualien (WMO46763/59362, Alt 14m) 28.2/18th 58.5/18th Suao (WMO46706, Alt 3m) 26.3/18th 43.2/18th Ilan (WMO46708, Alt 7m) 22.1/18th 36.8/18th Penghu (WMO46735, Alt 21m) 18.0/18th 30.4/18th Tainan (WMO46741/59358, Alt 14m) 17.1/18th 34.0/18th Kaohsiung (WMO46744, Alt 29m) 18.0/18th 31.4/18th Taichung (WMO46749/5915?, Alt 78m) 10.4/18th 34.0/18th Hengchun (WMO46752, Alt 13m) 17.9/18th 37.9/18th Chenggong (WMO46761, Alt 37m) 20.3/19th 30.1/18th Wuci (WMO46777, Alt 5m) 26.2/18th 41.9/18th Dongshi (WMO46730, Alt 45m) 27.9/18th 40.4/18th Lanyu (WMO46762/59567, Alt 325m) 45.0/18th 63.0/18th Mastsu (WMO46799) 17.1/18th 39.4/18th 2. Daily Top-10 Rainfall Obs ---------------------------- [16/1600-17/1600Z] Ranking Station ID City/County Rainfall ------------------------------------------------------------ 01 CWB C0U71 Ilan County 386.5 mm 02 CWB C0U73 Ilan County 343.5 mm 03 CWB C1C46 Taoyuan County 338.5 mm 04 CWB 21C14 Taoyuan County 266.0 mm 05 CWB C1U51 Ilan County 256.0 mm 06 CWB A0C54 Taoyuan County 252.0 mm 07 CWB C0A54 Taipei County 238.0 mm 08 CWB C1D40 Hsinchu County 232.0 mm 09 CWB C1A9N Taipei County 230.0 mm 10 CWB C0A58 Taipei County 225.5 mm [17/1600-18/1600Z] Ranking Station ID City/County Rainfall ------------------------------------------------------------ 01 CWB C0R10 Pingtung County 1009.0 mm 02 CWB C1R12 Pingtung County 855.0 mm 03 CWB C1V30 Kaohsiung County 715.5 mm 04 CWB C0U71 Ilan County 697.0 mm 05 CWB C1V27 Kaohsiung County 642.5 mm 06 CWB C1R14 Pingtung County 638.0 mm 07 CWB C0V25 Kaohsiung County 565.0 mm 08 CWB C0O81 Tainan County 562.5 mm 09 CWB C1V24 Kaohsiung County 555.5 mm 10 CWB C0M41 Chia-i County 511.5 mm [18/1600-19/1600Z] Ranking Station ID City/County Rainfall ------------------------------------------------------------ 01 CWB C1V30 Kaohsiung County 931.0 mm 02 CWB C1V27 Kaohsiung County 880.0 mm 03 CWB C0R10 Pingtung County 737.0 mm 04 CWB C1V22 Kaohsiung County 728.5 mm 05 CWB C1V19 Kaohsiung County 725.5 mm 06 CWB C1M61 Chia-i County 689.0 mm 07 CWB C0M53 Chia-i County 667.5 mm 08 WMO 46753 Chia-i County 663.0 mm 09 CWB C1F94 Taitung County 657.0 mm 10 CWB C1V34 Kaohsiung County 621.5 mm [19/1600-20/1600Z] Ranking Station ID City/County Rainfall ------------------------------------------------------------ 01 CWB C1R14 Pingtung County 494.0 mm 02 CWB C0R10 Pingtung County 438.0 mm 03 CWB C1R12 Pingtung County 436.0 mm 04 CWB C1R20 Pingtung County 405.5 mm 05 CWB C1R17 Pingtung County 403.5 mm 06 CWB C0R15 Pingtung County 397.5 mm 07 CWB C1R13 Pingtung County 385.0 mm 08 CWB C1R11 Pingtung County 378.0 mm 09 CWB C1R16 Pingtung County 373.5 mm 10 CWB C1V39 Kaohsiung County 372.0 mm [20/1600-21/1600Z] Ranking Station ID City/County Rainfall ------------------------------------------------------------ 01 WMO 46778 Tainan County 209.0 mm 02 CWB C1O95 Tainan City 206.0 mm 03 CWB C1R13 Pingtung County 176.0 mm 04 CWB C1V30 Kaohsiung County 174.0 mm 05 CWB C1R16 Pingtung County 166.0 mm 06 CWB C1R12 Pingtung County 162.0 mm 07 CWB C0X08 Tainan County 161.5 mm 08 CWB C0R10 Pingtung County 161.0 mm 09 CWB C1X09 Tainan County 156.5 mm 10 CWB C1V24 Kaohsiung County 156.0 mm Note: Mt. Weiliaosan, Pingtung County (CWB C0R10) reported a 4-day [17/1600-21/1600Z] total rainfall amount of 2345 mm, 1009 mm of which poured down within the 24-hr period ending at 18/1600Z. {Part III} Meteorological Obs from Fujian Province ================================================== 1. Gust Obs ----------- Following are WMO stations reporting gusts of gale force or higher: Station Name Station Info Peak Gust --------------------------------------------------------------------- Shouning, Ningde City WMO58744, 27.53N 119.42E, Alt 826m 27 m/s Zhouning, Ningde City WMO58747, 27.15N 119.35E, Alt 900m 22 m/s Pingnan, Ningde City WMO58933, 26.92N 118.98E, Alt 871m 20 m/s Zherong, Ningde City WMO58749, 27.25N 119.90E, Alt 670m 29 m/s Fuding, Ningde City WMO58754, 27.33N 120.20E, Alt 38m 26 m/s Xiapu, Ningde City WMO58843, 26.88N 120.59E, Alt 13m 26 m/s Ningde, Ningde City WMO58846, 26.33N 119.53E, Alt 33m 21 m/s Luoyuan, Fuzhou City WMO58845, 26.50N 119.53E, Alt 57m 27 m/s Changle, Fuzhou City WMO58941, 25.97N 119.50E, Alt 8m 33 m/s Lianjiang, Fuzhou City WMO58848, 26.20N 119.53E, Alt 7m 28 m/s Fuzhou, Fuzhou City WMO58847, 26.08N 119.28E, Alt 85m 24 m/s Minhou, Fuzhou City WMO58844, 26.15N 119.15E, Alt 50m 20 m/s Fuqing, Fuzhou City WMO58942, 25.72N 119.38E, Alt 38m 20 m/s Pingtan, Fuzhou City WMO58944, 25.52N 119.78E, Alt 31m 33 m/s Putian, Putian City WMO58946, 25.43N 119.59E, Alt 29m 24 m/s Xianyou, Putian City WMO58936, 25.37N 118.70E, Alt 77m 20 m/s Chongwu, Quanzhou City WMO59133, 24.90N 118.92E, Alt 23m 18 m/s Dehua, Quanzhou City WMO58935, 25.48N 118.23E, Alt 517m 18 m/s Yongchun,Quanzhou City WMO58934, 25.33N 118.27E, Alt 170m 21 m/s Xiamen, Xiamen City WMO59134, 24.48N 118.07E, Alt 138m 20 m/s Tong'an, Xiamen City WMO59130, 24.72N 118.13E, Alt 15m 18 m/s Jian'ou, Nanping City WMO58737, 27.05N 118.32E, Alt 156m 18 m/s Nanping, Nanping City WMO58834, 26.65N 118.17E, Alt 128m 18 m/s Zhenghe, Nanping City WMO58736, 27.37N 118.82E, Alt 221m 20 m/s Following are insular automatic stations reporting peak gusts of gale force or higher: Taishan 45.6 m/s Xiyang 41.1 m/s Pingtan 39.8 m/s Nanri 35.8 m/s Weitou 22.4 m/s 2. Rainfall Obs --------------- During the 72-hr period ending at 20/0000 UTC, rains > 200 mm were recorded in 9 counties/sub-cities of Fuzhou and Ningde Cities with Zherong County reporting the highest amount of 665 mm. (Guanyang, Ningde City, reported a 3-day total amounting to 780 mm----the highest of the hydrological stations during the same period.) Extrema from Zherong County, Ningde City: Daily rainfall: 472 mm [18/0000-19/0000Z] (a new record for the stn.) 6-hr rainfall: 158 mm [18/1800-19/0000Z] 3-hr rainfall: 130 mm [19/0000-19/0300Z] 3. Obs from Fuzhou City ----------------------- The WMO station 58847 (Fuzhou) is only a few kilometers NE of my home. According to those reports from the station, we had 123 mm of rains within 24 hrs [18/0000-19/0000Z] before Haitang made landfall near Fuzhou's Lianjiang County as a minimal typhoon around 19/0910Z (per NMCC). This was not too long before we received another very wet day, when the station reported 141 mm of rain [21/0000-22/0000Z], mainly recorded within 12 hrs [21/ 1200-22/0000Z] (It should be noted that 108 mm out of the total poured down within 6 hrs [21/1200-21/1800Z] from the periphery of the well-removed weakening depression.) One of the urban stations even recorded rainfall amounting to 219 mm during the same 12 hrs [21/1200-22/0000Z]! As for the winds, the majority of the peak gusts were reported by stations in the city 24 hrs or so before landfall occurred when the still powerful typhoon was roaming over Taiwan Island. The urban area (WMO58847) reported 47 knots, while another two WMO stations, Changle (WMO58941) and Pingtan (WMO58944) both reported minimal typhoon force. Additionally, an insular station located on Pingtan Island recorded gusts topping 77 knots. Nearly 9000 trees in the urban area of Fuzhou City were uprooted or partly damaged by Haitang's winds, though that occurred mainly on the 18th. The day of landfall, the 19th, seemed much calmer for my location. Actually, we even observed a decent rainbow on one occasion in the morning--very rare here during typhoons. (Interestingly, a press report indicated that another rainbow had been observed in Taipei City on the same day.) {Part IV} Meteorological Obs from Zhejiang Province =================================================== 1. Gust Obs ----------- The most significant two gust reports, 41.3 m/s and 41.1 m/s, came from the automatic stations named Zhaoshandu (located in Rui'an City) and Haishan (located in Yuhuan County), respectively. 2. Rainfall Obs --------------- During the 96-hr period ending at 21/0000 UTC, rains > 400 mm were reported by 13 stations (including hydrological stations) with Futou, Yueqing City reporting the highest amount of 840 mm. Extrema from Station Yueqing: 3-day rainfall: 793 mm [18/0000-21/0000Z] 24-hr rainfall: 513 mm [19/0300-20/0300Z] Daily rainfall: 487 mm [19/0000-20/0000Z] 3. Hydrological Obs ------------------- Two hydrological stations reported record-breaking water levels during the storm: Station Peak Water Level Former Record ------------------------------------------------ Yueqing 6.77 m [19/2020Z] 6.40 m [2004] Daitou 19.19 m [19/0542Z] 19.18 m [1994] {Part V} Rainfall Obs from Other Provinces ========================================== a. Lushan, Jiangxi Province (WMO58506, 29.58N 115.98E, Alt 1165m) reported 204 mm from [20/0000-21/0000Z] b. Changde, Hu'nan Province (WMO57662, 29.05N 111.68E, Alt 35m) reported 208 mm from [22/0000-23/0000Z] c. Zhengzhou, He'nan Province (WMO57083, 34.72N 113.65E, Alt 111m) reported 109 mm from [21/0900-22/0900Z] d. Xingyang, He'nan Province (WMO57081, 34.80N 113.43E, Alt 141m) reported 282 mm from [21/0900-22/0900Z] e. Qinyang, He'nan Province (WMO53972, 35.12N 112.92E, Alt 120m) reported 162 mm from [21/0900-22/0900Z] f. Jiaozuo, He'nan Province (WMO53982, 35.23N 113.27E, Alt 113m) reported 121 mm from [21/0900-22/0900Z] {Part VI} Damage and Casualties =============================== Haitang, the first 2005 TC/typhoon that made landfall in China, has turned out to be the strongest one to hit Taiwan Province in nearly five years, since Severe Typhoon 0010 (Bilis), which according to CWB, made landfall in Taiwan on the 22nd of August, 2000, with a MSW of 53 m/s (105 kts) and a CP of 930 hPa. Press reports indicated that Typhoon Haitang caused 12 deaths and left five people missing in Taiwan. Agricultural losses in the province were estimated to be at least NT$ 4.2 billion. Preliminary statistics indicated that the typhoon caused 11.92 billion yuan of direct economic losses in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi and was responsible for 5 deaths as well as 6 missing in the provinces, where 10,185,000 residents were affected, 18,000 houses were toppled and 326,000 ha of farmland was damaged. Some 863,000 and 558,000 people were evacuated in Fujian and Zhejiang, respectively, due to the typhoon. {Part VII} References (All in Chinese version) ============================================== http://www.nmc.gov.cn NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTER (BEJING) http://www.cwb.gov.tw CENTRAL WEATHER BUREAU (TAIPEI) http://www.fjqx.gov.cn FUJIAN METEOROLOGICAL BUREAU (FUZHOU) http://www.zjwater.com ZHEJIANG WATER CONSERVANCY (HANGZHOU)
E. Huang Chunliang Report from Japan
Station Min SLP (hPa) Peak SW (m/s) Peak Gust (m/s) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Miyakojima 993.1 [17/0825Z] 17.9 [17/0930Z] 34.5 [17/1209Z] Ishigakijima 980.6 [17/1455Z] 29.1 [17/1610Z] 47.6 [17/1546Z] Iriomotejima -----#[--------] 24.8 [17/1420Z] 45.9 [17/1549Z] Yonagunijima 967.9 [17/1903Z] 34.9 [17/1850Z] 54.8 [17/1843Z] Station Maximum Daily Rainfall (mm) --------------------------------------------- Miyakojima 106.0 [17/1500-18/1500Z] Ishigakijima 181.0 [17/1500-18/1500Z] Iriomotejima 335.0* [17/1500-18/1500Z] Yonagunijima 231.5 [17/1500-18/1500Z] Note 1 (#): Iriomotejima didn't reported a min SLP due to fault of the facility. Note 2 (*): Record-breaking value for the station. Note 3: Miyakojima is WMO47927, 24.79N 125.28E, Alt 40 m Ishigakijima is WMO47918, 24.34N 124.16E, Alt 6 m Iriomotejima is WMO47917, 24.39N 123.75E, Alt 9 m Yonagunijima is WMO47912, 24.47N 123.01E, Alt 30 m
(Sections A, B and C written by Kevin Boyle; sections D and E written by Huang Chunliang)
© 2005 Typhoon2000.com All Rights Reserved.