Severe Tropical Storm Utor, known in 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 ...

as Typhoon Feria, was a large and deadly system that caused heavy rains and landslides throughout the

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, and China. The eighth tropical depression and fourth named storm of the

2001 Pacific typhoon season The 2001 Pacific typhoon season was the fourth and final consecutive year with below-average activity, making it the lowest four-year period of activity since 1976–1979, due to the presence of a strong La Niña that had persisted from 1998–20 ...

, Utor formed on July 1 and intensified into a tropical storm shortly after. Utor was upgraded to a typhoon by the JTWC on July 3, and a day later, Utor was estimated to have peaked with 10-min winds of , with the JTWC estimating 1-min winds of . After passing just north of Luzon, Utor began to weaken, before making landfall on the district of Dapeng as a minimal typhoon. Utor caused 203 deaths, of which 168 were in the Philippines, 23 were in the province of Guangdong, 10 were in the province of Guangxi, and 2 were in Taiwan. Total damages from the storm amounted to $2.78 billion.

Meteorological history

At 21:30 UTC on June 26, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began monitoring a system in the Western Pacific Ocean. On June 29 at 12:30 UTC, 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) on the system. The system continued moving to the southwest and on July 1 at 0:00 UTC both 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) and the JTWC upgraded the system to a tropical storm, with the JMA giving it the name ''Utor''. Shortly after being named, Utor abruptly turned to the north, passing just west of the island of Yap. On the next day at 6:00 UTC, Utor entered the

Philippine Area of Responsibility The Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is an area in the Northwestern Pacific where PAGASA, the Philippines' national meteorological agency, monitors weather occurrences. Significant weather disturbances, specifically tropical cyclones tha ...

and was named ''Feria'' by the

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration 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 s ...

(PAGASA), which also began issuing advisories. Utor steered northwestward as it was gradually strengthening, being upgraded to a typhoon by the JTWC east 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, ...

on July 3. The JMA followed suit, upgrading it to a severe tropical storm. Utor continued to strengthen as it continued northwestward, and on July 4, Utor made its closest approach to the island of Luzon, peaking in the process with 10-min winds of , with the JTWC estimating 1-min winds of . Utor developed a ragged eye during peak intensity, with the island of Calayan being in the eye. After peak intensity, Utor slowed down slightly, beginning to weaken as it approached the Chinese province of

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 ...

. On July 6 at 0:00 UTC, Utor made landfall on the district of Dapeng as a minimal typhoon, quickly weakening over land. 18 hours later, the JTWC issued its final warning on the system, and the JMA followed suit not long after. Utor dissipated over the autonomous region of Guangxi.

Impacts

Philippines

Utor, while not a very strong storm, brought heavy rain causing many landslides and flooding throughout the countries it affected. Almost 1 million people spread out over 20 provinces in the

were affected by the typhoon, with thousands of houses being destroyed or damaged. Effects and impacts from Utor in the Philippines amounted to greater than $37 million (2001 USD) in damage, as well as causing at least 168 fatalities. At least 17 landslides occurred throughout the Philippines. In

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines ...

, rainfall from Utor set a new 24-hour rain record. Due to the effects of the storm, on August 13, President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

declared a state of calamity in the

Ilocos Region Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

and in the

Cordillera Administrative Region The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR; ilo, Rehion/Deppaar Administratibo ti Kordiliera; fil, Rehiyong Pampangasiwaan ng Cordillera), also known as the Cordillera Region and Cordillera (), is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

Hong Kong and China

During Utor's passage, a 980 hPa reading was recorded 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 ...

. 87 flights were canceled and 402 more were delayed due to the storm on July 6 in Hong Kong, with crops, roads, power lines, and other infrastructure in

being heavily damaged. A total of 23 people were killed and damages in Guandong amounted to ¥6.7 billion (US$813 million) (2001 USD). In Guangxi, economic losses were estimated at ¥16 billion (US$1.93 billion) (2001 USD), with 10 people being killed and another 6,850 people injured. In

Nanning Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South o ...

, the

Yong River The Yong River ( Chinese: , p ', Wu ') is one of the main rivers in China, located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. ...

rose to 5.4 meters above its danger level, the highest it has reached in 50 years.

Taiwan

Agricultural losses in

amounted to NT$68 million (US$2 thousand) (2001 USD). 2 people were killed and 6 were injured due to torrential rains and strong winds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Utor (2001) 2001 Pacific typhoon season Typhoons in China Typhoons in the Philippines 2001 in China 2001 in the Philippines