Typhoon Toraji, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Isang, was one of the deadliest tropical cyclones to hit the island country of

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 ...

, since 1961. The eight named storm and the third

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

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 ...

, Toraji's origins were from an area of convection that persisted to the west of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. Moving north-northwest over favorable conditions, the disturbance intensified to a tropical depression, while the JTWC issued a TCFA on the newly developed system. On July 26, the depression 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 typhoons that enter o ...

, with the PAGASA naming it ''Isang''. Strong easterly wind shear inhibited further development; however, as the shear relaxed, both the JTWC and PAGASA upgraded the system to a tropical storm with also the JMA following suit hours later. Now named ''Toraji'', the storm slowly intensified, reaching typhoon status on the next day. Toraji continued to gain strength until it made landfall as a Category 2 typhoon near

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

on July 29. Despite the rugged terrains of the country, the JTWC upgraded the system further to a Category 3, shortly before weakening as it moved offshore on

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a strait separating the island of Taiwan and the Asian continent. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. Names Former names of the Tai ...

. The JMA and PAGASA downgraded the typhoon to a tropical storm, with the latter issuing their final advisory as it moved out of their AOR. It continued to weaken, with the JTWC also downgrading the system to a tropical storm, before making landfall near

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

on July 31 before it was last noted by the next day. As Toraji hit southern

, it triggered landslides that destroyed houses. There were reports of flooding throughout the country and the nearby areas of

Fuzhou City Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Mindong linguistic and cultural region. Fuzhou's population was 8, ...

. Damages attributed from Toraji were estimated at $245 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 ...

) and there were over 200 individuals killed.

Meteorological history

The JMA issued a bulletin on July 24 for a developing area of convection that persisted to the west of

Hagåtña, Guam Hagåtña, formerly Agana or Agaña, is a coastal village and the capital of the United States territory of Guam. From the 18th through mid-20th century, it was Guam's population center, but today, it is the second smallest of the island's 19 ...

. The convection was embedded in a monsoon trough in a marginally favorable environment. Slow development continued, and the JTWC soon issued a TCFA on the system later the next day. On the same day, the JTWC issued their first warning on Tropical Depression 11W, with its center located approximately 650 nm east-southeast of

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 ...

's northeastern tip. The depression soon entered the

(PAR) early on July 26, assigning the name ''Isang'' from the PAGASA. The depression was moving north-northwestward at that time, with a partly exposed core underneath the deep convection's eastern edge. Due to the moderate wind shear impacting the newly formed system, the development was slow; however, the overall environment of Isang was favorable. On 18:00

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on July 26, the JMA upgraded the depression to a tropical storm, naming the system ''Toraji''. On July 27, the JMA, JTWC, and the PAGASA all upgraded Toraji to a

. It continued moving northwestward as it continued to approach

. On 18:00

of July 29, the center of the typhoon made landfall, just south of

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

as a Category 2 typhoon. By 0600 UTC on July 30, Typhoon Toraji had tracked through Taiwan and had passed out into the Formosa Strait. The storm was still classified as a typhoon by JTWC, but Toraji had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the other warning centers. Around 19:30 UTC on the next day, the weakening Toraji made landfall near Lianjiang and was subject to weakening. The last warning was given by JTWC on August 1, as it transitioned to an extratropical storm near

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Impact

According to different agencies and media reports from

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 ...

, Typhoon Toraji left over 200 deaths and about 150 people missing.

Taiwan and China

Over 340,000 people were without electricity due to the typhoon. Twenty-one people are killed and about 30 persons are missing in the town of Kuang Fu, in eastern

Hualien County Hualien () is a County (Taiwan), county on the east coast of Taiwan. It is Taiwan's largest county by area, yet due to its mountainous terrain, has one of the lowest populations in the country. The county seat and largest city is Hualien City. Hu ...

. The most badly affected areas in Taiwan were Hualien and Nantou's mountainous central district. Mudslides and floods swept houses, bridges, and mountain highways clear. The Agriculture Council of Taiwan reported that there could be $4 million in damage to land, livestock, and agricultural districts. Despite Toraji striking

in China as a tropical storm, the damages, and fatalities attributed to the storm are unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toraji (2001) Tropical cyclones in 2001

Meteorological history

Impact

Taiwan and China

See also

References