Typhoons | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Typhoons or cyclones are large, often destructive tropical storms similar to the western hemisphere's hurricanes. From Japan to India, millions of lives are at risk from typhoons, because of their high wind speeds, intense rainfall, and sea surges.

Since typhoons depend on heat and moisture to sustain them, these storms always form over warm oceans near the equator where sea-surface temperatures are at least 26°C. They originate in the western Pacific above the equator and follow several general tracks— westward across the central Philippines and into central and northern Vietnam, or curving northward to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and coastal areas of China. The most deadly and damaging of these storms originate in the warm water of the Bay of Bengal, where their northward track drives them into the low-lying and densely settled areas of Bangladesh. These storm occur before (April and May) or after (October–November) the southwest monsoon season and have been accompanied by winds in excess of 145 miles per hour. Although these winds can do great damage and release large amounts of rainfall, it is the storm surge or wall of water pushed ahead of the low pressure eye of the storm as it approaches the shoreline that is most devastating and accounts for most loss of life. The average annual frequency of typhoons in East and Southeast Asia is three or more per year. In the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, where these storms are called cyclones, there may be one or more per year.

The greatest damages from typhoons or cyclones have occurred in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Japan. About 10 percent of all tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal. Poverty and overpopulation worsen the devastating effects of cyclones on Bangladesh. Twenty million people live in vulnerable rural communities in the delta at the head of the Bay of Bengal, where much of the more productive rice land is located. In May 1985, a cyclone with a storm surge nine meters high caused more than eleven thousand deaths, although much higher death tolls have been recorded. For example, the storm of 29 April 1991 had an estimated death toll of 150,000–200,000 people and directly affected 15 million residents.

In isolated island groups such as the Philippines and Japan, typhoons can inflict large amounts of property damage, flooding, and loss of life. The concentration of built-up methods and agricultural activities in flood-prone lowlands and along coastlines means that high winds and heavy rainfall can cause damage to crops and buildings and threaten human life. The low-lying and narrow landmass of these island groups tends to intensify the impact of these forces. In 1970, four major typhoons swept central and north Luzon Island in the Philippines with over fifteen hundred lives lost. Typhoon Goring caused millions of pesos in crop damage in 1989.

Japan is hit by an average of four typhoons a year, which cause millions of dollars in property damage, primarily in the southern islands of Kyushu and Fukuoka. Typhoon Vera, which struck central Honshu in 1959, left five thousand dead and over forty thousand injured.

Efforts to mitigate the adverse impact of typhoons vary. Japan has enforced typhoon-resistant building practices in many of the most vulnerable urban areas in Kyushu and southern Honshu Islands and Fukuoka Prefecture for many years. Elsewhere in Asia, evacuation programs and early warning systems are less developed, although governments and international disaster-management agencies are working on developing them.

Alexander, David. (1991) Natural Disasters. New York:

Chapman & Hall.
Kovach, Robert L. (1995) Earth's Fury: An Introduction to

Natural Hazards and Disasters. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Smith, Keith. (1996) Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster. 2d ed. New York: Routledge.

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