Last updated October 15, 2021
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Typhoon Haima 2016

Philippines

Super Typhoon Haima (known locally as Lawin) made landfall on the Philippines’ Luzon Island on October 19 as a Category 4 storm, just days after Typhoon Sarika (Karen) made landfall in central Luzon, also as a Category 4 storm. Sarika produced rainfall totals up to 20 inches, and Haima dumped another 10 to 20 inches of rain, with even higher local totals, across the northern half of Luzon.

As Haima approached the Philippines on October 18, the storm reached Super Typhoon, Category 5 status, packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 160 mph, and its hurricane-force winds extended more than 60 miles northeast of its center, making Haima a massive storm.

There is a documented increase in the intensity of the strongest storms in several ocean basins in recent decades, including the Pacific Northwest as well as a documented trend towards more rapid intensification. There is a significant risk that these increases are linked to warming seas that offer more energy to passing storms. Ocean warming increases evaporation driving extreme rainfall and the intensity of tropical weather systems. At the same time, a warmer atmosphere is able to hold and dump more water, a change that has already led to a significant increase in extreme precipitation and flooding risk. Along coastlines, sea level rise due to global warming increases the risk of coastal flooding by boosting the platform from which typhoons inundate coastal areas.

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Typhoon Haima