Haiyan : Taifun Terdahsyat Dalam Sejarah Yang Menyapu Daratan

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Haiyan : Taifun Terdahsyat Dalam Sejarah Yang Menyapu Daratan

pentagruel

10-11-2013 22:14

Haiyan : Taifun Terdahsyat Dalam Sejarah Yang Menyapu Daratan

Haiyan yang disebut sebagai badai tropis terkuat yang menyapu daratan dalam sejarah menghantam Filipina dengan kecepatan saat mendarat mencapai 195mph (290 km/jam) dan hembusan angin 235mph serta tekanan 895 milibar.

Taifun ini termasuk kategori 5 - disebut Yolanda di Filipina - lebih dahsyat dari badai tropis terdahsyat sebelumnya yaitu hurricane Camille, yang tercatat menyapu daratan di Mississippi dengan kecepatan angin 190 mph tahun 1969.

Jika istilah hurricane, taifun dan siklun sedikit membingungkan anda, jangan kuatir. Menurut National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), istilah-istilah itu hanyalah nama lain untuk fenomena cuaca yang sama. Istilah 'hurricane' dipergunakan di sisi Atlantik dan Timur Laut Pasifik. Istilah 'taifun' dipergunakan di Barat Laut Pasifik dan istilah 'siklun' dipergunakan di Pasifik Selatan dan Lautan Hindia.

Taifun Super (super-typhoon) adalah istilah yang dipergunakan US Joint Typhoon Warning Center untuk taifun yang mencapai kecepatan angin paling tidak 65m/s (150 mph). Ini sebanding dengan hurricane ukuran 4 atau 5 dari kategori Saffir-Simpson di cekungan Atlantik atau skala 5 siklun tropis di cekungan Australia.

Spoiler for English:

Typhoon Haiyan: how does it compare with other tropical cyclones?
Typhoon Haiyan, described as the as the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in recorded history, hit the Philippines with winds of 195mph. How does it compare with other tropical cyclones?
Hitting the Philippines with winds of 195mph, typhoon Haiyan has been described as the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in recorded history.

Image from Japan Meteorological Agency's MTSAT of Haiyan over the Leyte Gulf, Philippine Sea. Photograph: Zuma/rex

The category fivestorm - which has also been called Yolanda in the Philippines - is reported to have had speeds at landfall of 195mph and gusts of up to 235mph, meaning that it is believed to be stronger than the world's last strongest tropical cyclone, hurricane Camille, which was recorded as making landfall in Mississippi with 190 mph winds in 1969.

The Guardian's south-east Asia correspondent, Kate Hodal, writes today :

Quote:

Thousands of people have been evacuated and thousands more have fled their homes as the category five storm sent waves as high as 5m (15ft) ashore on the islands of Leyte and Samar in the central Philippines, overturning powerlines and leaving streets knee-deep in water

Typhoon, hurricane or cyclone?

If the usage of the terms hurricane, typhoon and cyclone are getting you in a bit of a mix, don't worry. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) these are simply different names for the same weather phenomenon. The term 'hurricane' is used in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, 'typhoon' is used in the Northwest Pacific and 'cyclones' are the term to use in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Graphic showing route of typhoon Haiyan. By Guardian graphics

You might also have seen Haiyan referred to as a super-typhoon. The Nooa can also clear this one up, according to the definition on their website a super-typhoon is

Quote:

A term utilised by the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center for typhoons that reach maximum sustained 1-minute surface winds of at least 65 m/s (130 kt, 150 mph). This is the equivalent of a strong Saffir-Simpson category 4 or category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin or a category 5 severe tropical cyclone in the Australian basin.

The Noaa also explain that there are several ways in which a tropical cyclone's intensity can be measured; either central pressure or highest measured wind speed. But measuring such high winds can be tricky as the Noaa note "measurements of such winds are inherently going to be suspect as instruments often are completely destroyed or damaged at these speeds."

How does typhoon Haiyan compare?
Dr Jeff Masters, meteorologist and co-founder of the Weather Underground has attempted to answer just this question. Haiyan which came ashore at 4:40 am local time has been reported as making landfall at 195mph. Masters explains how the reported wind speed has been calculated:

Quote:

Three hours before landfall, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) assessed Haiyan's sustained winds at 195 mph, gusting to 235 mph, making it the 4th strongest tropical cyclone in world history. Satellite loops show that Haiyan weakened only slightly, if at all, in the two hours after JTWC's advisory, so the super typhoon likely made landfall with winds near 195 mph.

The next JTWC intensity estimate, for 00Z UTC November 8, about three hours after landfall, put the top winds at 185 mph. Averaging together these estimates gives a strength of 190 mph an hour after landfall. Thus, Haiyan had winds of 190 - 195 mph at landfall, making it the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history.

As Masters explains, Haiyan although the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history, it is actually the fourth strongest tropical cyclone in history. We've put the list of official strongest cyclones in world history that Master cites into the table below:

An important thing to note though is that the Noaa have stated that the maximum sustained winds estimated for typhoons during the 1940s to 1960s were too strong.

Spoiler for satellite images:

This image and data were taken at 10:08 UTC by NASA's TRMM Satellite.

The image was taken on November 7th at 8am Eastern Standard Time by the Japan Meteorological Agency and EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites)