Super Typhoon BAVI threatens Taiwan – 1,000 litres of rain

155 mph winds
Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan

The powerful typhoon Bavi in the Western Pacific is currently heading towards Taiwan. It is expected to cross the north of the island during the overnight into Saturday, impacting capital city, Taipei.

Hurricane-force winds exceeding 155 miles per hour, waves up to 30 feet high, and heavy rainfall of up to 40 inches are expected. That is an extremely large amount. As a result, there are fears of widespread flooding and landslides.

The image shows an intense tropical cyclone over the western Pacific, east of Taiwan and the Philippines. The centre of the system is depicted as a light purple and white vortex with a clearly visible eye, surrounded by a ring of red and orange areas indicating the strongest wind speeds. A white arrow marks the typhoon’s predicted track north-westwards towards Taiwan. To the west of the storm lie the Philippines, with the cities of Manila and Cebu; to the north of these lies Taiwan, with Taipei. Further west, the Chinese coast, including Hong Kong, and parts of Vietnam can be seen. The coloured wind map shows predominantly green areas outside the storm’s core, indicating significantly weaker winds. White streamlines illustrate the typhoon’s anti-clockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. The highest wind speeds are concentrated around the eye of the cyclone.

WindRadar

shows the typhoon, which is now moving towards Taiwan.

The typhoon has a diameter of around 620 miles, which is unusually large for a cyclone. Allowing the system to bring prolonged rainfall as it crosses the island, which also explains the high accumulation totals.

After passing over Taiwan, Bavi makes landfall on the east coast of China in a slightly weakened form. By then, both the rainfall and the gusts of wind are no longer quite as severe.

Did you know?

Super typhoons are among the strongest tropical cyclones in the world and are equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.

Over the past few days, the storm has already hit the Mariana Islands. Wind gusts of over 185 mph were recorded there, and numerous buildings were destroyed.

One reason for the high number of powerful typhoons could be El Niño, which causes sea temperatures in the eastern Pacific to rise. During an El Niño event, the likelihood of powerful cyclones in the Pacific generally increases.

Verena Leyendecker

155 mph windsSuper Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan

Did you know?

155 mph winds
Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan