Super typhoon

Super typhoon Soudelor death toll-The storm has already claimed at least two casualties and one missing in a coastal area off the coast of Taiwan’s northeastern Yilan county, according to report.

• Two dead in Taiwan as nation braced for super typhoon Soudelor.

An eight-year-old girl and her mother died after being swept out to sea off Taiwan as Super Typhoon Soudelor made its landfall on the island, forcing thousands to flee, according to local officials.

“The missing girl’s twin sister and mother died after the three of them and another girl who survived were swept away by strong waves at Suao Township’s Neipi beach.”
Authorities had already warned the locals especially living along coastal areas in Eastern Taiwan.

The first report of casualties related to super Typhoon Soudelor with the eye of the storm on course to run directly into the nation and make landfall in eastern Taiwan early today, report said.

An eight-year-old girl who was swept out to sea on a beach in Yilan County on Thursday was still missing as of yesterday afternoon, despite rescue attempts by emergency workers, the center said. The young girl and her mother became the first casualties of the speeding super typhoon Soudelor, speed of 21 kilometers per hour in a west-northwesterly direction and packing maximum sustained winds of 173 kilometers per hour, with gusts reaching 209 kilometers per hour.

The coast guard unit based in Suao Township said it had dispatched rescue vessels at 6am, but had to recall them because of high winds and rough seas. Deployed more than 35,000 military personnel to help relocate residents of vulnerable areas.

As the storm hit the east coast, the Taiwan Railways Administration canceled its Puyuma Express trains running between Taipei and Taitung County, affecting almost 30,000 passengers. Trains along the western coast were not yet affected.

Taipei began closing its river dike gates at 5pm, with authorities towing any remaining vehicles from riverside parking lots. Vehicles had been forbidden from entering the riverside areas throughout the day, with the city opening up “red” and “yellow” painted curbside and school parking lots to accommodate vehicles.

Suspended work and classes for the whole day, while other town and municipalities followed suit after 6pm yesterday.

The typhoon is expected to remain until Saturday afternoon before moving across central Taiwan to Fujian province in mainland China. Image CHINA STRINGER NETWORK/ REUTERS

Earth’s Strongest Cyclone of 2015 Super, Typhoon Soudelor threatens large parts Asia, after typhoon Soudelor wreaks havoc in Saipan Islands, sparing Philippines and moving toward Taiwan, China and Ryukyu Island’s in Japan.

• Super Typhoon Soudelor passed directly over Saipan on August 2 as a Category 2 equivalent storm.

The storm is forecast to continue to weaken before making landfall, but is still expected to be a large and powerful typhoon — likely equivalent to a Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane — when it hits Taiwan.
Super Typhoon Soudelor spares Philippine, locally known as Typhoon Hanna, is currently a tropical cyclone in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, which recently wrecks the Northern Mariana Islands.

“The thirteenth named storm of the annual typhoon season developed as a tropical depression just west of the International Dateline on July 29.”

According to the latest updates on Wiki, Typhoon Soudelor passed directly over Saipan on August 2 as a Category 2 equivalent storm, causing widespread damage on the island. The National Weather Service’s anemometer at Saipan International Airport broke after recording a gust of 146 km/h (91 mph). The winds downed numerous trees and power lines, leaving much of the island without power and rendering roads impassible. In some areas, cars were flipped over by the force of the wind.

Super Typhoon Soudelor sparing Philippines, as of 4 p.m. yesterday, the eye of the typhoon was located at 1,720 kilometers east of Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour. It was forecast to move west northwest at 20 kph.

PHILIPPINES -The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that as of 10 a.m., Typhoon Soudelor was located based on all available data at 1,855 kilometers east of Luzon and was moving west northwest at 20 kilometers per hour (kph). The typhoon’s maximum sustained winds has increased to 215 kph from 210 kph.

The Super Typhoon Soudelor is expected to leave Philippines Thursday morning, the typhoon will be at 850 kilometers east of Itbayat, Batanes and by Friday morning, it is expected to be at 400 kilometers east northeast of the town still in the country’s territorial limits at Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). It will be at 520 kilometers north of Itbayat, or already outside the PAR by Saturday morning.

JAPAN —Japan Meteorological Agency estimated Soudelor’s central pressure at 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday was 900 millibars, making Soudelor the strongest tropical cyclone on Earth so far in 2015. That central pressure has come up quite a bit, reflecting Soudelor’s weakening, to an estimated 930 millibars.

For now, the main island of Okinawa (including Kadena Air Base) lies to the north of the forecast swath, but it remains too soon to rule out a more northward trend. If the track trends closer to Okinawa, the nearest pass would occur Thursday night or Friday morning, according to Weather.com report.

CHINA —It is expected to make landfall in Fujian and neighboring Zhejiang Province late on Saturday. In southeast China, the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong are most at risk of a typhoon landfall this weekend. These provinces have a combined population of 200 million. Soudelor’s circulation is then expected to curl northward, potentially bringing heavy rain to Jiangxi, Anhui and Hubei provinces.

Soudelor will continue a west-northwest track the next couple of days over open waters of the western Pacific Ocean and is expected to strengthen again before hitting Taiwan later this week. Image courtesy of CNN