Severe Tropical Storm Higos, known in the Philippines as Tropical Depression Helen, was a tropical storm that affected China and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

around the same area as

Nuri Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal. Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites and the construction of p ...

two months prior. Higos formed from a tropical disturbance north of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, on August 16. The storm tracked northeast and quickly intensified, becoming a tropical storm on August 17. The storm made landfall in

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pe ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

at peak intensity on August 19, and quickly weakened soon after. Higos killed 7 people and caused 45 billion đồng (US$2 million) in damages in Vietnam. Higos also caused more than US$140 million in damages, but no fatalities in China.

Meteorological history

A new tropical depression formed from the Intertropical Convergence Zone east of

on August 16. At 15:00 UTC, the

PAGASA Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae * PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal *Pagasa, alternate ...

named the system ''Helen'' and began issuing severe weather bulletins for the tropical depression, but dropped the alerts as Helen left the Philippine area of responsibility after 4 hours. Around 21:00 UTC, JTWC issued the first

Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formi ...

on the developing tropical depression. Early on the next day, JTWC followed suit from JMA and PAGASA by upgrading the system into Tropical Depression 08W. Shortly after, Helen intensified into a tropical storm and were given the name ''Higos'' by the JMA. Later in the day, the

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

also upgraded Higos into a tropical storm. JMA eventually upgraded the system to a severe tropical storm by evening that day. The Hong Kong Observatory and Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau upgraded Higos into a marginal typhoon prior to landfall, with sustained hurricane-force winds in Macau indicating such an intensity. Higos made landfall over

at peak intensity at around 06:00 CST on August 19 (22:00 UTC on August 18). After landfall, Higos quickly weakened soon after and would dissipate in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, China on August 20.

Preparations and impact

In preparation for Higos, the

Hong Kong Observatory The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Ho ...

raised the number 9 tropical cyclone warning signal in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

to warn of the possibility of hurricane-force winds. Winds generally reached gale to storm force over the southern part of Hong Kong under the influence of Higos' small circulation. The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau issued the number 10 signal, the highest signal, at 05:00 am local time. Over 65,000 people evacuated and schools were closed across these areas. Power was knocked out in

Meizhou Meizhou (, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 million as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xingning Ci ...

, after trees knocked down power lines. Two campers who were unaware of the approaching storm had to be rescued from Tap Mun Island after arriving on August 14. The storm also left 7 deaths and 45 billion đồng (US$2 million) in damages in Vietnam.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higos Typhoons in China Typhoons in Vietnam Western Pacific tropical storms

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

References

External links