Tropical Typhoon Haiyan swept over the territories of the Philippines, Vietnam, China and Micronesia. It claimed many lives and caused irreparable damage to industry and infrastructure, forever remaining in history as one of the largest natural disasters. The Philippines has suffered the most.
General information about the typhoon
Typhoon Haiyan got its name from the English word "haiyan", which translates as "whale". In the Philippines, it is called Typhoon Yolanda.
This is one of the most powerful tropical cyclones in history. It happened in November 2013, passing through the territory of the Philippines and its neighboring countries. Haiyan is the thirtieth storm to be named, the thirteenth typhoon and the fifth super typhoon of the 2013 Pacific Typhoon season.
Meteorological history
On the morning of November 2, the United States Naval Typhoon Prevention Center began monitoring a low-pressure site approximately 430 kilometers southeast of Pohnpei.
Based on the analysis of weather conditions and a numerical forecast, a calculation was made, according to which a tropical cyclone should have formed within the next 72 hours.
In the early morning of November 3, the event was classified as a tropical depression, that is, an area of reduced pressure within the tropics with winds less than 27 knots.
However, due to the sharp increase in the intensity of the tropical cyclone on the same day, it was renamed Tropical Storm. And already on November 5, a "cyclone eye" formed inside it and this finally transferred it to the category of a typhoon. By this time, the speed of the winds inside the cyclone was equal to 195 km / h.
In preparation for the typhoon, the Philippine authorities have introduced a high alert level for the police. Classes were canceled in educational institutions, and evacuations were initiated in some areas, as they could be affected by flooding and landslides. The military provided planes and helicopters in those regions where the typhoon was expected to hit.
Typhoon invasion and its aftermath
Haiyan hit East Samar on November 7, 2013 at 20:45 GMT, passed through the Visayas region and invaded Leyte and Samar islands. Storm waves 5-6 meters high were recorded there.
In the city of Tacloban, the same waves destroyed the terminal of the city airport, located on the coast. The same waves led to massive destruction, completely washing away the coastal structures in the eastern regions of Tacloban. As a result of the typhoon, the city was almost completely destroyed.
After the typhoon passed, looting and robberies were observed here, to which even vehicles with humanitarian aid were subjected. For a long time there was no water and electricity supply in the affected areas and there was a shortage of food, drinking water and medicines.
The total death toll in the Philippines is 5,716, and the damage is estimated at $ 1.635 billion.
Passing through the Philippines, Haiyan reached China and Vietnam. In China, in the Hainan province, he inflicted significant damage. 6 people died there. Particularly affected was the Qionghai region, where economic damage was estimated at 4.9 billion yuan. And in Guangxi province, the damage amounted to 275 million yuan. 900 houses were destroyed and more than 8, 5 thousand houses were declared uninhabitable.
In Vietnam, Haiyan caused heavy rainfall typical of a tropical storm. 14 people died here, 81 people were injured.
