Severe Tropical Storm Trami (2013)

Severe Tropical Storm Trami

Severe tropical storm (JMA scale)
Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Trami in Philippine Sea on August 20
Formed	August 15, 2013
Dissipated	Currently active
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 100 km/h (65 mph) 1-minute sustained: 110 km/h (70 mph)
Lowest pressure	980 hPa (mbar); 28.94 inHg
Fatalities	8 total
Areas affected	Philippines, Taiwan
Part of the 2013 Pacific typhoon season

Severe Tropical Storm Trami (international designation: 1312, JTWC designation: 12W, PAGASA name: Maring) is currently an intense tropical storm that enhanced much of the southwest monsoon that brought widespread flooding in areas of the Philippines.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale

Map key

Saffir–Simpson scale

  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown

Storm type

Tropical cyclone

Subtropical cyclone

Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

On August 15, a low pressure system formed along the monsoon trough about 200 kilometres east of Hengchun, Taiwan, in the Pacific Ocean. The system tracked towards the east steadily before strengthening in favourable conditions to a tropical depression on 17 August, at which point PAGASA began to monitor the depression. The system was named 12W and was designated as Maring by PAGASA. Maring began to interact with another depression north of it, exhibiting Fujiwhara Effect.

On August 18, 12W strengthened into a tropical storm, receiving the name of Trami, while steadily tracking generally eastwards. It remained stationary for almost a day as it was making a U-turn and it is now in the general direction of Taiwan.

Preparations and Impact

Philippines

File:Rainfall Warning.jpg

Rainfall Warning System used by PAGASA.

The heavy rains were due to the seasonal monsoon being exacerbated by Tropical Storm Trami, known locally as Maring, which was hovering to the north of the Philippines. In the afternoon of August 18, torrential rainfall started to pour down in the cities, forcing government officials to suspend classes and government work due to the expected heavy rains and relevant rainfall warnings being subsequently issued.

More than 200,000 flood-battered residents of the Philippine capital fled their homes on Tuesday as relentless monsoon rains submerged more than half of Manila. At least 60 percent of Manila was flooded on Tuesday morning, with some places enduring waters climbing as high as 2.1 meters (seven feet), an official with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority told the briefing. Countless others were forced to wait out the floods in their water-filled homes, while the less fortunate sat on sidewalks with only plastic sheets for protection from the rain. While no-one was reported killed in Manila, five more people were confirmed to have drowned in flooded farming provinces to the north, according to the government's disaster management council. Among them were a one-year-old baby and a 64-year-old man, both of whom drowned in the rural province of Pampanga about an hour's drive north of Manila. This brought the confirmed death toll from two days of flooding across Luzon to eight.

The economic toll has also started to grow, with the stock exchange, government offices and schools in Manila closed for a second consecutive days. More than 160 domestic and international flights at Manila's airport were cancelled. The Marikina River rose as high as 19 meters, forcing authorities to evacuate some nearby residents. Major dams in Luzon were also in the spilling level, prompting authorities to release water. Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bataan and Pampanga declared state of calamity due to flash floods.

See also

• Typhoon Haikui (2012)
• Typhoon Ketsana (2009)
• Tropical Storm Koni (2003)
• Tropical Storm Rumbia (2000)