Typhoon Nari was an unusually long-lived typhoon which took an erratic, two week track near Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 during September 2001.

Meteorological history

On September 5, a tropical depression developed northeast of Taiwan. Weak currents, which were prevalent throughout its lifetime, caused it to drift to the northeast where it became a tropical storm on the 6th. Nari stalled near Okinawa, and became a typhoon on the 7th. Over the next 5 days, Nari executed a triple loop over open waters, reaching a peak of 115 mi/h winds before weakening to a tropical storm on the 14th. It restrengthened to a typhoon, and as it continued southwestward, Nari reached 100 mi/h winds before hitting northeastern Taiwan on the 16th. The storm drifted across the island, emerging into the South China Sea on the 18th as a tropical depression. It continued westward, and finally made landfall east of Hong Kong as a 65 mi/h tropical storm on the 20th.

Impact

Striking two months after Taiwan's deadliest typhoon, Toraji, Nari brought torrential rainfall to much of the island. Numerous landslides triggered by the storm's rain destroyed homes and buried people. At least 94 people were killed on the island due to the storm and 10 others were listed as missing. Agricultural losses from Nari were estimated at T$2.9 billion ($84 million USD). In mountainous regions, more than 1225 mm (48.2 in) of rain fell over a two-day span, leading to many rivers overflowing their banks. Some areas recorded a record-breaking 800 mm (31.5 in) during a single day, equivalent to four months of rain in Taiwan. At the height of the storm, an estimated 650,000 people were without power and 350,000 lost their water and telephone supply. Most of the fatalities took place around the city of Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

 and nearby counties. The metro system in the city was severely damaged by floods and was not expected to be working for at least six months.

Aftermath

In response to the severe damage, the Taiwanese government deployed roughly 8,000 soldiers to assist in search-and-rescue operations across the island. Nearly 10,000 people in northern and central Taiwan were relocated to shelters set up across the region.

Already suffering from an economic downturn from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the economy of Taiwan was severely affected by Nari. Businesses across the island were shut down and the stock exchange was closed for several days. However, after it reopened, there was significantly less stock activity as hundreds of thousands of residents were either unable to get to work or were hampered by travel issues. The combination of the two events was estimated to have reduced the gross domestic product

Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

of Taiwan by 0.2%, roughly NT$19.4 billion ($560 million USD).

External links

• The JMA's Best Track Data on Typhoon Nari (0116)
• The JMA's RSMC Best Track Data (Graphics) on Typhoon Nari (0116)
• The JMA's RSMC Best Track Data (Text)
• The JTWC's Best Track Data on Typhoon 20W (Nari)