Tropical Storm Toraji was a weak, short-lived system that impacted
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 ...
in November 2018. Forming as the twenty-seventh
named storm
Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...
of the
2018 Pacific typhoon season
The 2018 Pacific typhoon season was at the time, the costliest Pacific typhoon season on record, until the record was beaten by the following year. The season was well above-average, producing 29 storms, 13 typhoons, and 7 super typhoons. It was ...
, Toraji developed as a tropical depression to the southeast of Vietnam on November 16. Quickly organising, the system strengthened into a tropical storm the next day. Toraji rapidly weakened thereafter early on November 18, when the storm made
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
over southeastern Vietnam, later dissipating. The storm's remnants moved into the
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...
when Toraji re-organised back into a tropical depression on November 20. However Toraji quickly deteriorated on the same day as it moved closer to the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The are ...
.
Despite being a weak storm, Toraji brought heavy rainfall which lead to
flash flooding
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
and
landslides
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...
, mostly in the southern provinces of Vietnam. This resulted in a total of 32 people dead, with the majority of them being in the
Khanh Hoa province. Damages were toppled up to
₫1.24 billion (US$53.9 million).
Meteorological history
On November 15, 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 ...
(JTWC) began monitoring on a tropical disturbance that had developed about to the east of
Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
,
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 ...
. After being located in an area of favourable environments with very low
vertical wind shear
Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...
, the tropical disturbance gradually intensified, which prompted the
Japan Meteorological Agency
The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...
(JMA) to start classifying it as a tropical depression.
Shortly thereafter, the JTWC issued a
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 ...
(TCFA). By November 17, under the influence of high
sea-surface temperatures
Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mas ...
and good
upper-level outflow
Outflow, in meteorology, is air that flows outwards from a storm system. It is associated with ridging, or anticyclonic flow. In the low levels of the troposphere, outflow radiates from thunderstorms in the form of a wedge of rain-cooled air, whi ...
, the JMA immediately initiated advisories and upgraded the depression to a tropical storm, naming it ''Toraji''.
On 15:00 UTC of the same day,
satellite imagery had depicted a large cluster of deep
convection
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the c ...
persisting near the system's
low-level circulation center
The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically in diameter. It is surrounded by the ''eyewall'', a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weat ...
. This prompted the JTWC to begin issuing advisories as a tropical depression, with the designation of ''32W''.
Six hours after the JTWC began issuing advisories, the deep convection located near the storm's center became displaced and sheared. At this point, the JTWC no longer expected Toraji to intensify into a tropical storm, and hence, Toraji reached its 10-minute
maximum sustained winds
The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common
indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. U ...
of with a
barometric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibar ...
of .
At around 00:00 UTC of November 18, Toraji made landfall over the southeastern coast of
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 ...
, about south of
Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilo ...
.
Six hours later, Toraji began to weaken and the JMA downgraded the storm to a tropical depression. The JTWC followed suit three hours later when the system's center became elongated and the deep convection became disorganised.
However, the JMA tracked Toraji until 12:00 UTC of the same day as it moved further over land.
The remnants of Toraji meandered over the southern portion of Vietnam for a couple of days until it turned toward the southwest and entering the
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...
. By 09:00 UTC of November 20, satellite imagery showed a new burst of convection along convective banding wrapping into the system's center. This prompted the JTWC to re-issue advisories on Toraji. However, Toraji's convective signature did not last long within the JTWC's next advisory. Therefore, the JTWC issued its final advisory on Toraji on 21:00 UTC of the same day, as the storm made landfall on the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The are ...
.
Preparations and impact
Toraji was the eighth tropical system to affect
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 ...
in 2018, hence the local designation of ''Cơn bão số 8''. Local authorities are preparing to evacuate vulnerable residents to safety. Fishing boats and ships were banned on setting sail in nearby areas of the
Can Gio District
Can may refer to:
Containers
* Aluminum can
* Drink can
* Oil can
* Steel and tin cans
* Trash can
* Petrol can
* Metal can (disambiguation)
Music
* Can (band), West Germany, 1968
** ''Can'' (album), 1979
* Can (South Korean band)
Other
* ...
. The National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting forecast that provinces over in the southern portion of Vietnam would experience rainfall of about , along with heavy and scattered
thunderstorms
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
from November 17 through to 19. Any areas near rivers in the south and central regions were expected to have a higher-risk of flooding, with
Binh Dinh and
Phu Yen
Phu or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
*Phủ, prefecture in 15th–19th century Vietnam
People Given name
*Phu Dorjee (died 1987), first Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen
*Phu Dorjee Sherpa (died 1969), first Nepali to climb Mount ...
under Disaster Alert Level 1, while the rivers in
Khanh Hoa and
Binh Thuan were under Disaster Alert Level 2.
Risks of landslides were greater–with mountainous, low-lying and even urban communities in the central regions getting the risk.
After the passage of the storm, Vietnam's southern provinces experienced vast areas of flash flooding. In the province of
Khanh Hoa, a two-day rainfall from November 17–18 were measured to up to .
The city of
Nha Trang
Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city has a ...
experienced a rain total of .
Low-lying communities saw houses being submerged by more than one meter.
To ensure the safety of the students from the damages, schools were closed on November 19,
where an estimated total of 90,000 students were forced to stay at home.
Villages over mountainous areas experiences landslides that buried homes. The main highway that linked Northern and Southern Vietnam was temporarily blocked along with interruptions of rail service due to heavy debris, where 400 train passengers have remained stranded.
At least 17 people have perished from the storm in Nha Trang alone. The city's chairman criticised the local authorities for "late responses" to the damages caused, and the areas where landslides have killed people weren't included in the list of landslide-prone areas given to city authorities. A report a few months after the storm stated that a total of 20 people have died, with total damages measured at
₫1.24 billion (US$53.9 million).
See also
*
Other storm named Toraji
*
Weather of 2018
The following is a list of weather events that occurred in 2018.
Summary by weather type
Winter storms and cold waves
A cold wave from late December 2017 persists into early January 2018. Between both years, 39 people die. Several records due ...
*
Tropical cyclones in 2018
During 2018, tropical cyclones formed within seven different tropical cyclone basins, located within various parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the year, a total of 151 tropical cyclones had formed this year to date. 102 t ...
*
November 2016 Vietnam tropical depression
The November 2016 Vietnam tropical depression caused heavy flooding throughout central and southern Vietnam. Forming out from a low-pressure system on November 3, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) began monitoring it as a tropical depression. ...
*
Tropical Depression Wilma (2013)
Tropical Depression Wilma, also referred to as 30W and Depression BOB 05 were a series of tropical cyclones that traveled from the Northwest Pacific Ocean to the North Indian Ocean in 2013. Forming east of Palau on November 1, the tropical depr ...
*
Typhoon Tembin
Typhoon Tembin, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Vinta, was the deadliest tropical cyclone to strike Mindanao since Typhoon Bopha in 2012. Following and impacting the Philippines less than a few days after the deadly Tropical Storm Kai-tak, Te ...
Notes
References
External links
Japan Meteorological AgencyJoint Typhoon Warning CenterVietnam's National Hydro-Meteorological Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toraji (2018)
Toraji
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
2018 disasters in Vietnam
November 2018 events in Asia
Toraji