ChapterPDF Available

Storm Surge Due to 2013 Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Leyte Gulf, the Philippines

Authors:
Hiroshi Takagi at Institute of Science Tokyo
Hiroshi Takagi
Mario de Leon at De La Salle University
Mario de Leon
Miguel Esteban at Waseda University
Miguel Esteban
Takahito Mikami at Waseda University
Takahito Mikami
Show all 5 authorsHide
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

The present chapter describes the characteristics of the massive storm surge generated by the 2013 Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), which made landfall on the coast of the Philippines on November 2013. The authors conducted a series of field surveys and numerical analysis in Leyte and Samar Islands in the aftermath of the disaster in order to understand the characteristics of what constituted an almost unprecedented event in the modern era. As a result it was revealed that Yolanda struck Leyte Island at near peak strength, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 160 knots, the strongest in the recorded history of the Western North Pacific. The weather system approached land very quickly, with a forward speed of 41km/hr as it reached Leyte, which was also one of the fastest among typhoons in the past 6 decades. As a result, Yolanda caused the largest storm surge in the recorded history of Philippines. Storm surge field surveys conducted by the authors recorded a maximum inundation height of 7m at Tacloban, located at the northern end of Leyte Gulf. Through their interviews with local population and officials, the authors also found that water levels at some locations first lowered and then rapidly began to increase, which corresponds with the results of the numerical simulations carried out.
Content uploaded by Miguel Esteban
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Miguel Esteban on Mar 08, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
Storm Surge due to 2013 Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Leyte Gulf, the
Philippines
Hiroshi Takagi, Tokyo Institute of Technology, takagi@ide.titech.ac.jp
Mario de Leon, De La Salle University, mario.deleon@dlsu.edu.ph
Esteban Miguel, The University of Tokyo, esteban.fagan@gmail.com
Takahito Mikami, Waseda University, takahito8765@gmail.com
Ryota Nakamura, Waseda University, ryota_nakamura617@yahoo.co.jp
Abstract
The present chapter describes the characteristics of the massive storm surge generated
by the 2013 Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), which made landfall on the coast of the
Philippines on November 2013. The authors conducted a series of field surveys and
numerical analysis in Leyte and Samar Islands in the aftermath of the disaster in order
to understand the characteristics of what constituted an almost unprecedented event in
the modern era. As a result it was revealed that Yolanda struck Leyte Island at near peak
strength, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 160 knots, the strongest in the
recorded history of the Western North Pacific. The weather system approached land
very quickly, with a forward speed of 41km/hr as it reached Leyte, which was also one
of the fastest among typhoons in the past 6 decades. As a result, Yolanda caused the
largest storm surge in the recorded history of Philippines. Storm surge field surveys
conducted by the authors recorded a maximum inundation height of 7m at Tacloban,
located at the northern end of Leyte Gulf. Through their interviews with local
population and officials, the authors also found that water levels at some locations first
lowered and then rapidly began to increase, which corresponds with the results of the
numerical simulations carried out.
Keywords: Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), Storm Surge, Philippines, Typhoon Track
Analysis, Numerical Simulation, Field Survey, Receding of sea water, Tacloban, Leyte
Island, Samar Island
Figure 6. Results of storm surge simulation (a) Simulated maximum storm surge height
and inundation areas, (b) Simulated water elevation time series and inundation height
(unit: m) measured during field surveys (Note: A flat line in the simulation indicates
when the ground elevation is higher than the water level at the time)
Conclusions
The present chapter carried out a statistical analysis of typhoon Yolanda, showing how
this powerful weather system struck Leyte Island at near peak strength, with maximum
sustained wind speeds of 160 knots, the strongest at landfall in the recorded history of
the Western North Pacific. Yolanda approached very quickly with a forward speed of
41km/hr, which was also the fastest among typhoons in the past 6 decades. As a result
of these extreme strong winds and the exceptionally low central pressure of the typhoon
(895 hPa), Yolanda caused the largest storm surge in the recorded history of Philippines.
Numerical simulations show that the maximum storm surges could be expected to take
place in Leyte and Samar Islands. To ascertain this, the authors conducted field surveys
which recorded a maximum inundation height of 7m at Tacloban, the largest city in the
region, located at the northern end of Leyte Gulf. The simulation results also show that
water levels at some locations first lowered and then rapidly began to increase, which
were corroborated by eyewitness accounts of local residents. This phenomenon appears
to be a rather unique feature of the storm surge caused by Typhoon Yolanda, which has
rarely been observed in past events.
... The average number of tropical storms in the Philippines that make landfall is 8 or 9 storms per year [1]. Super Typhoon Haiyan-local "Yolanda" was one of the strongest typhoons on record in the Philippines [2,3]. It formed in the low-pressure region in the West Pacific Ocean on November 2, 2013, and it was equivalent to a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale assessed by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) [4]. ...
... Only typhoon wind speed significantly affected all damage levels. It is possible to use wind speed as the main parameter to predict damage levels.2 Urban plain area Wind speed significantly affected all damage levels. ...
Statistical Analysis of Building Damage from the 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan and its Storm Surge in the Philippines
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2020
In November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) hit the Philippines. It caused heavy loss of lives and extensive damages to buildings and infrastructure. When collapsed buildings are focused on, it is interesting to find that these buildings did not collapse for the same reasons after the landfall of the typhoon and storm surge. The objective of this study is to develop a statistical model for building damage due to Super Typhoon Haiyan and its storm surge. The data were collected in collaboration with Tanauan Municipality, the Philippines. The data for the inundation map were obtained by field surveys conducted on-site to determine the cause of the damages inferred from satellite data. The maximum wind speed was derived from the Holland parametric hurricane model based on the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) typhoon track data and the inundation depth of storm surge was calculated using the MIKE model. Multinomial logistic regression was used to develop a model to identify the significant factors influencing the damage to buildings. The result of this work is expected to be used to prepare urban plans for preventing damage from future storms.
View
... The rise time of the storm surge was estimated to be less than half an hour (Takagi et al., 2015b), which correlates well with interviews with survivors . Fig. 11 also shows how water depth and velocity would have risen quickly at the street indicated by St. 1 in Fig. 9, with the depth-velocity product exceeding the safety limit of 1.0 m 2 /s in just 10 min. ...
View
... Its intensity was among the highest ever observed for tropical cyclones globally ( Lin et al. 2014). The forward speed of the typhoon, reaching around 41 km/h at landfall, was also unusual among other events of comparable intensity during the past 6 decades in the Western North Pacific ( Takagi et al. 2014Takagi et al. , 2015. ...
Statistics of tropical cyclone landfalls in the Philippines: unusual characteristics of 2013 Typhoon Haiyan
Article
Full-text available
The unusual statistical characteristics of Typhoon Haiyan were investigated using the JTWC best track data from 1945 to 2013, particularly focusing on tropical cyclones making landfall in the Philippines. Haiyan generated the strongest winds among a collection of over 400 past storms, which was 16 % greater than the second strongest typhoon on record (Typhoon Zeb in 1998). The forward speed of Haiyan was nearly twice as fast as the average speed of these weather systems and could be the fastest typhoon on record. Thus, Haiyan can be characterized as both the fastest moving and strongest typhoon measured in the area. The return period for a Haiyan-class typhoon to make landfall was estimated to be 200 years. A statistical analysis also indicated that the number of tropical cyclone making landfall around Leyte Island in the Philippines—the area most severely damaged by Haiyan—has been steadily increasing over the past 7 decades. Analysis of sea surface temperature (SST) indicates that both Haiyan and Zeb occurred during seasons that were characterized by remarkably warm SSTs over the seas surrounding the Philippines. Keywords Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) – Tropical cyclone landfalls – Philippines – Return period – Forward speed – Storm surge
View
Effects of land cover change on atmospheric and storm surge modeling during typhoon event
Article
  • Mar 2020
  • OCEAN ENG
Understanding the role of land cover changes on climate and hydrology during typhoon events is vital for coastal hazard mitigation, prevention, as well as the regulation of land cover. To investigate the effects of land cover changes, simulation studies using the WRF model to calculate the meteorological field combined with the Delft3D-FLOW model capable of accurately simulating storm surges were conducted. The accuracy of this modeling approach is guaranteed since the models were validated against available in-situ and satellite measurements during typhoon Rammasun (2014) period. Through comparing simulation results obtained with the MODIS 2001 and the GlobCover 2009 land cover data scenarios, it is found that land cover changes in the study region exert an apparent influence on the atmospheric and storm surge simulations. Notable disagreements exist between the selected two land cover data. Different types of land cover have disparate physical properties, such as roughness length that alters the typhoon-induced wind field simulation results, thus resulting in changes in storm surge simulation results. Determining the impact of land cover changes on atmosphere and storm surge provides clearer insight into the land cover impacts, which is of great benefit to the atmospheric and storm surge models improvement.
View
Storm Surge Awareness in the Philippines Prior to Typhoon Haiyan: A Comparative Analysis with Tsunami Awareness in Recent Times
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2016
  • COAST ENG J
Category 5 Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines in modern times, and introduced the term “storm surge” to the vocabulary of many local residents, who had not heard about such phenomena prior to this event. The storm surge manifested itself on the 8th November 2013 as Haiyan made landfall, devastating large areas in the islands of Leyte and Samar. To attempt to gain an understanding of the level of awareness that local residents had about storm surges the authors conducted structured questionnaires (n = 172) and focus group interviews with local residents, and discussed the results obtained with key informants (government officers and disaster risk managers). One of the key problems identified during the interviews was how people were not able to clearly understand the concept of a storm surge, with many respondents emphasizing how it would have been better for authorities to describe it as a “tsunami”. A discussion is also made on the recent evolution in world-wide coastal disaster awareness, comparing it to recent developments in storm surge awareness in the Philippines and other countries in the area, such as Vietnam and Japan. The authors conclude that, in terms of its influence on world-wide disaster awareness, typhoon Haiyan constitutes an event of similar importance to major recent high-impact tsunami events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku events. As a result, the authors will outline a number of lessons learnt from Haiyan, such as the necessity for creating multi-layer safety strategies and improving how information about storm surges is transmitted to local residents.
View
Interdecadal variability of tropical cyclone landfall in the Philippines from 1902 to 2005
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2009
1] A dataset of tropical cyclone landfall numbers in the Philippines (TLP) is created from a combination of historical observation records of the Monthly Bulletins of Philippine Weather Bureau and Joint Warning Typhoon Center best-track data for the period of 1902 to 2005. Interdecadal variability of TLP is found to be related to different phases of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The annual TLP has an apparent oscillation of about 32 years before 1939 and an oscillation of about 10–22 years after 1945. No long-term trend is found. During the low PDO phase, the annual TLP decreases (increases) significantly in El Niño (La Niña) years. During high PDO phase, however, the difference in annual TLP between different ENSO phases becomes unclear. These results suggest that natural variability related to ENSO and PDO phases appears to prevail in the interdecadal variability of TLP. Citation: Kubota, H., and J. C. L. Chan (2009), Interdecadal variability of tropical cyclone landfall in the Philippines from 1902 to 2005, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L12802, doi:10.1029/2009GL038108.
View