Typhoon Muifa (2004) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Typhoon Muifa was a typhoon during the 2004 Pacific typhoon season

2004 Pacific typhoon season

The 2004 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 2004, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...

. The name Muifa is taken from the ume

Ume

Prunus mume, with the common names including Chinese plum and Japanese apricot, is an Asian tree species classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus. The flower, long a beloved subject in the traditional painting of East Asia, is usually translated as plum blossom. This distinct tree...

blossom.

A disturbance became Tropical Depression 29W on November 14 and strengthened into Tropical Storm Muifa in the early of the 15th when centered east-southeast of Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Muifa turned back onto a west-northwest heading and intensified. It reached typhoon intensity on the 17th just prior to beginning a two-day clockwise loop. Late on the 18th, Muifa's intensity peaked at 130 mph (115 knots), still to the east of the Philippines. Unding, as PAGASA

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...

named it, made landfall very late on the 19th near Naga City with maximum winds of 80 mph (70 knots). The storm briefly lost typhoon strength for a day until it regained typhoon intensity in the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

on the 21st. Muifa held onto typhoon status until late on the 23rd when its weakened to a tropical storm once more. By early on the 26th, a weakening Tropical Depression Muifa was located 250 nm south of Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. Later that day Muifa turned northward into an environment of increased wind shear and dissipated 120 nautical miles (222.2 km) south-southwest of Bangkok.

The highest 24 hour rainfall amount from the Philippines was 246.4 mm at Catanduanes

Catanduanes

Catanduanes is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Virac and the province lies to the east of Camarines Sur across Maqueda Channel. As of 2007, the population of the province is 232,757 people.-Etymology:"Isla de Cobos" was Catanduanes' first...

between midday the 15th and 16th. The death toll reported from the Philippines was 68 dead, 160 injured, and 69 unaccounted for. A total of 26,238 houses were destroyed and 76,062 damaged; total damage reached $1.0089 billion pesos ($17.96 million 2004 USD

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

). The highest 24-hour rainfall amount reported in Thailand

Thailand

was 251.5 mm at the Prachuap Khiri Khan

Prachuap Khiri Khan

Prachuap Khiri Khan is a town in southern Thailand. It is the capital of Prachuap Khiri Khan province and is on the coast at one of the narrowest stretches in Thailand, only 10 km from the Burmese border at Dansingkhorn. The town can reached from Bangkok by train from Hualampong Station or by...

airport between the afternoon of the 25th and 26th. Floods and landslides triggered by the typhoon killed about 40 people, and 42 more people were reported missing.

Meteorological history

The disturbance that was to become Muifa can be traced back to the afternoon of November 12, when a weak low-pressure system formed over the Western Marianas

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

. It became Tropical Depression 29W on November 14 and strengthened into a tropical storm while moving north-northwestward by early the 15th or late on the 14th when centered 550 miles (885.1 km) east-southeast of Manila, Philippines. PAGASA assigned the name Unding to the cyclone on the 14th as it passed the 135th meridian.

The storm's forward speed suddenly decreased from 28 km/h to 13 km/h when it entered an area of weak steering flow in between a high-pressure ridge in development centered over China and a high-pressure ridge weakening south of Japan. On the 16th, the tropical cyclone started drifting north-northeast. Muifa turned back onto a west-northwest heading and intensified. It reached typhoon intensity on the 17th just prior to beginning a two-day clockwise loop. Late on the 18th, Muifa's intensity peaked at 130 mph (115 knots) with a minimum central pressure of 955 mbar (hPa), still to the east of the Philippines.

Muifa made landfall very late on the 19th near Naga City with maximum winds of 80 mph (70 knots). The system ambled across the Philippine Archipelago

Philippines

, dropping down to tropical storm intensity on the afternoon of the 20th. Shortly after Unding left the country, on the 22nd, Tropical Depression Merbok (Violeta) passed over Luzon. Only five days after that, Typhoon Winnie hit Luzon. Luzon was hit a third time by Typhoon Nanmadol on December 2. The Philippines being struck by four tropical systems so close together is a very rare event, and also very damaging.

On the 21st, Muifa regained typhoon intensity in the South China Sea. Now moving west-southwest, early on the 22nd Muifa re-strengthened into a 105 mph (90 knots) typhoon 440 miles (708.1 km) east of Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...

, Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. Muifa held onto typhoon status until late on the 23rd when its weakened to a tropical storm once more. At this point, it was forecast by the JTWC that Muifa would strike the southern tip of Vietnam with 65 mph (55 knots) sustained winds. From there, it would restrengthen to typhoon strength and pass over Thailand

Thailand

and enter the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, slowly weakening as it heads into the Bay of Bengal

Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...

. This did not happen, though.

On the 25th, Tropical Storm Muifa accelerated westward at a 23 mph (21 knots) clip. By early on the 26th, a weakening Tropical Depression Muifa was located 250 nm south of Bangkok

Bangkok

, Thailand. It was still forecast by the JTWC that the depression would enter the Andaman Sea

Andaman Sea

The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean....

, though much weaker than it was previously forecast, and later strike India as a 40 mph (35 knots) tropical cyclone. Once again, this did not occur. Later that day, Muifa turned northward instead and entered an environment of increased wind shear and dissipated 120 nm south-southwest of Bangkok. But according to the Thailand Meteorological Department (TMD) advisories, Tropical Depression Muifa made landfall near Amphoe Tha Chana

Amphoe Tha Chana

Tha Chana is a district in the north of Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand.-History:The district is already quite old. Originally named Prasong , it was a subordinate of Mueang Lang Suan. In 1906 it was reassigned to Mueang Chaiya, which is now Surat Thani province. The seat of the...

, Surat Thani Province

Surat Thani Province

Surat Thani is the largest of the southern provinces of Thailand, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand. Surat Thani means City of Good People, the title given to the city by King Vajiravudh ....

at around 1500 UTC on the 25th with winds of 35 mph (30 knots).

Preparations

Clark Air Base

Clark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...

, an American air base on Luzon, had some 70 United States Marines and others evacuated to Okinawa via plane. Almost 3,000 people were stranded in various places in the Philippines because the ferry crossings between Bicol

Bicol Region

The Bicol Region or Bicolandia is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Its regional center is Legazpi City...

and the central islands of the Philippines were forbidden to any vessel under 1,000 tons during the storm.

The Vietnamese government issued protective orders asking Petrovietnam

Petrovietnam

PetroVietnam is the trading name of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group . PetroVietnam has developed rapidly since it was established in 1977, and its activities, through its various companies and wholly owned subsidiaries, now cover all the operations from oil and gas exploration and production to...

, an oil monopoly, to watch over oil drilling facilities. The facilities were also modified to withstand the typhoon. All but a few of the workers were evacuated before the storm came. Boats were also urged to return to shore somewhere else safe. Off-shore fishing also became forbidden. Youths in schools in Ca Mau

Ca Mau Province

Cà Mau is a province of Vietnam, named after its capital city. It is located in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, and is the southernmost of Vietnam's 58 provinces...

province had as many days off as needed.

Over 3,000 people from Loi Quan Island in the Go Cong Dong District were evacuated to safer areas or shelters when asked by the government.

A United States-owned gas firm in the Gulf of Thailand

Gulf of Thailand

The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...

, Unocal Corporationss, was forced to shut down and evacuate at least 781 people from the firm.

Philippines

There was an area of extreme rainfall measuring possibly 40 inches (1,016 mm) just east off the coast of southern Luzon. Much of southern Luzon and other portions of central Philippines received rainfall between 10 to 20 inches (508 mm). Catanduanes

Catanduanes

and extreme southeastern Luzon might have been blanketed in as much as 35 inches (889 mm) of rain though. Naga City only received a total of 8.26 inches (209.8 mm) of rainfall, but it was enough to flood some low-lying areas. The highest 24 hour rainfall amount from the Philippines was 246.4 mm at Catanduanes between midday the 15th and 16th. The passing of four cyclones in a short period of time as mentioned above caused a great deal of damage. Over 1,400 people either died or were missing, mostly from Winnie. Rainfall from all systems was extremely high.

The lowest pressure at Naga City was 986.1 mb early on the 16th. Because of the high rainfall, over 3,000 people had to be evacuated from the lowlands. A wind gust of 48 km/h coming from the north was measured in Naga City.

The death toll reported from the Philippines was 68 dead, 160 injured, and 69 unaccounted for. Most of the casualties were adults, but two infants succumbed to hypothermia

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...

, as did an elderly man in Catanduanes. Another twelve of those people were killed by a tornado

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

associated with the storm that ripped through the coastal towns in Oriental Mindoro

Oriental Mindoro

Oriental Mindoro is a province of the Philippines located in the island of Mindoro under MIMAROPA region in Luzon, about 140 km southwest of Manila...

province. A total of 26,238 houses were destroyed and 76,062 damaged, with 40 of those homes being in Cataduanes. Some areas reported 80% of the trees and electricity posts were destroyed. Total damage in the Philippines reached 1.0089 billion pesos ($17.96 million 2004 USD

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

, November 26, 2004 exchange rate). At least fifteen provinces were affected by Unding.

Vietnam

Typhoon Muifa had a very devastating impact on Vietnam. The highest 24-hour rainfall amount reported was 251.5 mm at Prachuap Khirikhan between the afternoon of the 25th and 26th. Flooding from the torrential rains was seen in the low-lying places in and around the city of Huế

Hue

Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...

and nearby districts.

The cyclone caused the 14 houses to collapse. An additional 85 home's roofs were blown off in Ca Mau

Ca Mau Province

Cà Mau is a province of Vietnam, named after its capital city. It is located in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, and is the southernmost of Vietnam's 58 provinces...

. Approximately 500 square kilometres of paddy rice, shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

, and fruit trees were annihilated. In the Bac Lieu Province

Bac Lieu Province

Bạc Liêu is a province of Vietnam. It is a coastal province, and is situated in the Mekong Delta region of the southern part of the country.- Name :Formally a territoy of Cambodia, the name Bac Lieu is believed to derive from the Khmer language...

, 34 houses fell, and another 90 or more were damaged to some degree. Five houses in the Kien Gian province were damaged and three fishing vessels sank off the coast. Hội An, which is the town that was declared a world heritage site, was hit by the flood and submerged in more than 6 feet (2 meters) of water, and more than 83 old houses were in danger of collapse. In all, over 170,000 houses in five provinces were sumbmerged partially.

Floods and landslides triggered by the typhoon killed about 40 people, and 42 more people were declared missing. At least three people were injured in the Bac Lieu Province

Bac Lieu Province

, while one fisherman was reported missing in Kien Giang.

Aftermath

There were many relief operations setup throughout the Philippines very shortly after the cyclone moved into the South China Sea. The Philippine National Red Cross

Philippine National Red Cross

Born officially in 1947, Philippine Red Cross , a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, has roots that trace back to the revolutionary days...

(PNRC) also mobilized 15 disaster response teams quickly. All together, there were about 1,000 volunteers helping the evacuation of the disaster-stricken families and in the initial relief operation. Two hundred sacks of rice and vegetables seeds were distributed by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...

, president of the Philippines, throughout Oriental Mindoro.

The Philippine president also released a total of $5 million pesos for cleaning up in Oriental Mindoro on November 25. $3 million pesos went to rebuilding homes in Roxas

Roxas

Roxas various by language: Roahaas , Roahous , Rohan , Rohanna , Rojo , Roja Red , Rocksas , Rocksberry, Roxbury, Roxberry, Rowhous , Rosas , Roxburg , Roxburghe , Roxborough , Rocshire , Roxshire , Rochas and Rocha , Roach , Roashan Places in the Philippines:* Pres. Manuel A...

. The other $2 million pesos went to the provincial government's relief and rehabilitation efforts. A member of the country's congress also gave $10 million pesos to be used for the hoped speedy rehabilitation of the province.

Residents that were evacuated in the coastal communities of Vietnam returned home on the morning of November 25. The families whose homes were damaged began to receive emergency relief aid. But there were also many villages in the mountains which needed urgent relief but which could not be quickly reached.

The name that PAGASA gave to Muifa, Unding, was retired following this storm. The name selected to replace it was Ulysses.

Meteorological history

Preparations

Philippines

Vietnam

Aftermath

See also