Typhoon Pabuk was a high-end Category 2 typhoon that struck

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in mid-August 2001. As the tenth named storm and the fifth typhoon of the

2001 Pacific typhoon season The 2001 Pacific typhoon season was an average season with twenty-six named storms, sixteen typhoons and three super typhoons, with a near normal Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) of 307.3 units. It ran year-round in 2001, with most tropical ...

, it originated from a tropical depression to the north-northwest of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

. It began to develop rapidly, so 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 ...

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 ...

. The same agency began to issue advisories on the system; thereafter, the depression was designated ''14W''. Every agency upgraded the depression to a tropical storm, gaining the name ''Pabuk'' from the

Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...

. Pabuk gradually intensified as it moved northwestward, getting upgraded to a typhoon by the JTWC on August 15, with the JMA following suit not too long after. By August 17, Pabuk briefly reached its initial peak strength as a low-end Category 2 typhoon before slowly weakening. The following day, Pabuk began to re-intensify. Pabuk also began to form an

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

. By August 19, Pabuk reached its second peak intensity with 1-minute

sustained wind 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 certain distance from the center, known as the radius of maxi ...

s of . Pabuk grew in size, and its eye became irregular, hinting on a weakening trend while moving north northeastward. Pabuk weakened to tropical storm intensity when it hit the southern coast of

, south of

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, on August 21. On August 22, both the JMA and the JTWC issued their final advisories after Pabuk became

extratropical Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

. The name Pabuk was submitted by

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and refers to the

Mekong giant catfish The Mekong giant catfish (''Pangasianodon gigas''; , , ; /''trəy riec''/; ), is a large, threatened species of catfish (order Siluriformes) in the shark catfish family (Pangasiidae), native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia and adjacent C ...

. Pabuk brought heavy rain to

and damaged fields. Pabuk caused 8 fatalities and caused $421 million (2001

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) in damages.

Meteorological history

On August 13, the

started to track a tropical depression that was embedded to the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

to the north-northwest of

. Due to its rapid development, the

issued a

. The JTWC began issuing advisories; thereafter, giving the designation of ''14W''. All agencies upgraded 14W to a tropical storm the next day, after

satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...

depicted a well-defined

Low-level Circulation Center The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of a tropical cyclone. 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 weath ...

along with gale-force winds to the south of it. The JMA gave the storm the name ''Pabuk''. Moving northwestward, Pabuk gradually intensified, and the JTWC upgraded the system to a typhoon on August 15; the JMA did the same 24 hours later. By August 17, Pabuk briefly reached its initial peak strength as a low-end Category 2 typhoon as it moved west-northwest before slowly weakening. During the next day, Pabuk began to re-intensify as a banding eye feature began to develop. Satellite animated imagery showed an

eyewall The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of a tropical cyclone. 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 weath ...

forming with deep

convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...

. By 06:00 UTC of August 19, Pabuk reached its second peak intensity with 1-minute

s of . The typhoon grew in size, and its

became irregular, hinting on a weakening trend while moving north northeastward. Pabuk weakened to tropical storm intensity when it hit the southern coast of

, south of

, on 12:00 UTC of August 21. On August 22, both the JMA and the JTWC issued its final advisory after it became

Preparations and impact

Pabuk brought heavy rainfall in the southern part of

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

, which flooded many homes and disrupting sea and air travel. As the typhoon was approaching, the JMA warned on heavy winds and strong gusts along the southwestern and western coastline of Japan. Heavy rainfall was forecast throughout most of the nation to as far south as

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, with the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan and is located within the Kansai region. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. The peninsula has long been a sacred place in Buddhism, Shinto, and Shugendo, and many people wou ...

being forecast to have rainfall of about . Around 70 homes were flooded in the island of

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami Islands, Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands, all of which belong to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 712.35 ...

alone. Moreover, the launch of the next-generation rocket

H-IIA H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar orbi ...

was also halted due to stormy conditions. Throughout Japan, the storm resulted in eight fatalities and 141 injured people. 917 hectares of fields were damaged. Multiple types of transportation were cancelled. Total damages from the typhoon amounted to ¥51.2 billion (US$ million).

Notes

References

External links

Digital Typhoon: Typhoon 200111 (PABUK) - General Information (Pressure and Track Charts) (nii.ac.jp)

{{2001 Pacific typhoon season buttons Typhoons in Japan Pabuk

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

Notes

References

External links