SUPERTYPHOON ‘Yolanda’ made landfall five times yesterday as it swept through the Visayas.
Philippine weathermen and international agencies agree that its strength on hitting land was unprecedented.
CNN last night described it as probably the world’s most powerful storm ever.
The storm went “island hopping”.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Yolanda made landfall in Guian, Eastern Samar at 4:40 a.m. with center winds of 235 kilometers per hour and 275 kph gusts.
After pummeling Eastern Samar at dawn, it increased speed from 33 kph to 44 kph then made second landfall in Dulag-Tolosa at 7 a.m.
Leyte’s mountain terrain slowed down Yolanda to 40 kph when it hit northern Cebu in Daanbantayan at 9:40 a.m. and then Bantayan Island at 10:40 a.m. before reaching Conception, Ilo-ilo in Panay Island at 12 p.m.
The supertyphoon left the Visayas heading west northwest.
On its way out of the country, Yolanda’s eye made its sixth landfall in the Calamian Group of Islands in the nothern tip of Palawan.
CNN reported that the super typhoon, whose international name is Haiyan, had sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph) and gusts as strong as 380 kph (235 mph).
It will take further analysis after the storm passes to establish whether it is a record, said CNN, which described the typhoon as probably the strongest tropical cyclone to hit land anywhere in the world in recorded history.
Oscar Tabada, OIC of Pagasa Visayas, said it was fortunate that Yolanda increased speed after hitting land,which meant less volume of rain along its path.
Pagasa had forecast 10 to 30 millimeters of rains along the path of the supertyphoon whose rain band has a diameter of about 600 kilometers, covering 44 provinces around the country.
Dr. Jeff Masters, co-founder and director of meteorology of Weather Underground, citing data from the Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JWTC) said Yolanda’s landfall with maximum sustained winds of 314 kph and gustiness of 378 kph. makes “it the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history.”
Pagasa calculates storm wind speed based on 10-minute averages unlike JTWC’s minute-long measurements, resulting in more conservative wind velocity forecasts.
Strongest landfall
The previous record was held by the Atlantic’s Hurricane Camille of 1969, which made landfall in Mississippi with 190 mph winds, Masters said in his blog yesterday.
In the Philippines, the last supertyphoon was Pablo (international name: Bopha) on Dec. 4, 2012. It had gusts up to 210 kph, claiming more than 1,000 lives and P42 billion in property damage.
At 235 kph, Yolanda is stronger than Ruping (international name: Mike) which sliced through Mactan Island and Cebu City in November 1990.
The strongest tropical cyclones in world history:Super Typhoon Nancy (1961), 215 mph winds, 882 mb. Made landfall as a Cat 2 in Japan, killing 191 people.Super Typhoon Violet (1961), 205 mph winds, 886 mb pressure. Made landfall in Japan as a tropical storm, killing 2 people.Super Typhoon Ida (1958), 200 mph winds, 877 mb pressure. Made landfall as a Cat 1 in Japan, killing 1269 people.Super Typhoon Haiyan (2013), 195 mph winds, 895 mb pressure. Made landfall in the Philippines at peak strength.Super Typhoon Kit (1966), 195 mph winds, 880 mb. Did not make landfall.Super Typhoon Sally (1964), 195 mph winds, 895 mb. Made landfall as a Cat 4 in the Philippines.