Satellites of NASA on Nov. 11 captured the images of the storms: Toraji, Yinxing, Usagi and Man-yi, which were either approaching the Philippines or had already passed through the country’s islands and waters, NASA said.
Four storms can be seen over the Pacific Ocean in a NASA satellite image, Nov. 11, 2024. Photo by NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang |
Gene Huang, a forecaster from Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, told the New York Times that never before have four storms been seen at once in November.
Olivia Shuk-ming Lee, a senior scientific officer at Hong Kong Observatory, said the most number of storms recorded at the same time in the western North Pacific and South China Sea in November has been three, which was most recently in 2009, the Times reported.
About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters in Southeast Asia each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window, according to AFP.
Toraji eventually made landfall on the Luzon Island on Nov. 11, where heavy rain triggered floods and landslides. The typhoon had reached its peak wind speed on Nov. 10 at 130 kph, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Yinxing hit the Philippines on Nov. 7, with wind speed at 240 kph according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, classifying it as a super typhoon. The storm eventually entered Vietnamese waters before degrading into a low-pressure area on Nov. 12.
Usagi was already on its way to become a super typhoon when the satellite photo was taken. By Nov. 13, its wind speed was at 240 kph, and it became the fifth major storms to wreck the Philippines in less than a month. The storm has already flooded vllages and displaced thousands of people before its expected landfall onto the Philippines on Sunday, AP reported.
Man-yi’s wind speed was at 85 kph at the time the satellite image was taken. Philippine authorities issued an urgent appeal on Saturday for residents in low-lying areas and coastal towns to move to safety as super typhoon Man-Yi gained strength on its approach towards the country’s main Luzon island, Reuters reported.
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