Typhoon Saola (2012)
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Typhoon Saola, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Gener, was a strong tropical cyclone affecting the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in late-July 2012. It was the ninth named storm and the fourth typhoon of the 2012 Pacific typhoon season. ''
Saola The saola (''Pseudoryx nghetinhensis''), also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is a forest-dwelling bovid native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of ...
'' is the name of a rare mammal found in Vietnam.


Meteorological history

On July 26, 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 ...
(JMA) reported that a tropical depression had developed within an area of strong vertical windshear in the monsoon trough about to the southeast of Manila in the Philippines. During that day the shear relaxed before during the next day, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (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 ...
on the system. Early on July 28, the JTWC upgraded the system to a tropical depression, whilst the JMA upgraded it to a tropical storm and named it ''Saola''. Soon, the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) agency of the P ...
(PAGASA) upgraded the system to a tropical depression and named it ''Gener''. Later that day, the JTWC upgraded Saola to a tropical storm. Early on July 29, the JMA upgraded Saola to a severe tropical storm. On July 30, the JTWC upgraded Saola to a category 1 typhoon, as it started to develop an eye-like feature, but soon downgraded it to a tropical storm late on the same day. On July 31, the JTWC upgraded Saola to a category 1 typhoon again. Late on the same day, the JMA upgraded Saola to a typhoon, and the JTWC soon upgraded it to a category 2 typhoon early on the next day. The
Central Weather Bureau The Central Weather Administration (CWA; ) is the government meteorological research and forecasting institution of Taiwan (the Republic of China). In addition to meteorology, the Central Weather Administration also makes astronomical observation ...
(CWB) reported that Typhoon Saola made landfall over Xiulin, Hualien in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
at 19:20 UTC on August 1 (03:20 TST on August 2). However, Saola later moved counterclockwise and arrived the
ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...
soon, whilst the JMA downgraded it to a severe tropical storm early on August 2 due to strong land interaction. At 06Z on the same day, Saola passed over Cape San Diego, the easternmost point of Taiwan. Late on August 2, the JMA downgraded Saola to a tropical storm, before it made landfall over Fuding in
Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
at 22:50 UTC (06:50 CST on August 3). On August 3, the JMA downgraded Saola to a tropical depression, after the JTWC issued a final warning on the system. The system continued to weaken into a weak low pressure area over
Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...
, China on August 4. The weak, remnant low later drifted south west to the Gulf of Tokin, and regenerated slightly on August 7.


Preparations and impact


Philippines

Saola caused widespread rains in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
due to the enhancement of the
southwest monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
. On July 29, domestic and international flights throughout the country were delayed and cancelled. Small fishing crafts were advised to not engage in the water as a gale warning was issued by PAGASA. The NDRRMC alerted their agency as the storm is expected to bring heavy rains. Seaports were also advised to cancel their trips. Flooding is imminent as different dams are expected to reach its critical level and possibly release huge millimeters of water. About three roads in northern
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
were impassable due to floods and landslides. About sixty families in Rodriguez, Rizal were evacuated due to severe flooding in the area. Early on July 30, classes were suspended from pre-school to tertiary level as strong winds and severe rainfall were recorded throughout Metro Manila and nearby provinces. In all, 54 fatalities were confirmed in the Philippines, with three others went missing and 35 people were injured. Almost 950,000 people were affected by Saola. More than 9,300 houses were damages. Damage from the storm amounted to
The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Latin script, Latin letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol u ...
728 million (US$17.3 million), more than half of them was due to agricultural losses.


Taiwan

As the storm made landfall in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, almost the entire island suspended services as high winds and rains triggered flooding in several locations. Almost 70 inches fell in some areas, ranking Saola within the top 5 wettest cyclones to ever hit the island. Authorities ordered schools and business to shut, with the exception of few major factories. Financial markets were also closed, and would remain until 3 August. Taiwanese Army soldiers rescued more than 1,000 people from remote mountainous villages in the north and east. Two passenger boarding bridges collapsed at
Taoyuan International Airport Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣桃園國際機場) is the main international airport serving Taiwan, particularly the northern region and Taipei. Located in Dayuan District, Dayuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, ...
, which serves
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
, slightly damaging a
China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; zh, t=中華航空, poj=Tiong-hôa Hâng-khong, p=Zhōnghuá Hángkōng, first=t, c=, s=) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan). It is one of Taiwan's two major airlines, along with E ...
aircraft and forcing the company to scrap the flight. More than 200 international and domestic flight were reportedly cancelled because of the storm. At least six people were killed and two were missing in Taiwan as of 2 August, in addition to 16 injured. Agricultural losses across the island reached NT$1.02 billion (US$34 million).


China

In Fujian Province, a total of 9,708 homes were destroyed and 36,726 more were damaged. Preliminary damage was estimated at ¥1.02 billion (US$160 million). In Hubei Province, over 135,000 people were displaced by the floods and left in need of assistance across the province. In total, 25 people were killed in China, and total economic losses were counted to be CNY17.15 billion (US$2.68 billion).


See also

* List of wettest tropical cyclones * Typhoon Gaemi (2024) * Typhoon Nesat (2017) * Typhoon Matmo (2014) * Typhoon Fitow (2013) * Typhoon Jangmi (2008) * Typhoon Morakot


References


External links


JMA General Information
of Typhoon Saola (1209) from Digital Typhoon
JMA Best Track Data (Graphics)
of Typhoon Saola (1209)
JMA Best Track Data
of Typhoon Saola (1209)
JTWC Best Track Data
of Typhoon 10W (Saola)
10W.SAOLA
from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Latest humanitarian response information via ReliefWeb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saola (2012) 2012 Pacific typhoon season 2012 disasters in the Philippines 2012 in the Philippines Typhoons in the Philippines Typhoons in Japan Typhoons in Taiwan
Saola The saola (''Pseudoryx nghetinhensis''), also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is a forest-dwelling bovid native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of ...