Super Typhoon Meranti delivered very strong wind, high storm surge, and flooding precipitation to southern Taiwan as it passed through Luzon Strait near noon local time Wednesday.
According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, the strongest storm in the world this year and the most intense typhoon since Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013, Meranti also impacted northern Philippine islands and recently made landfall on mainland China early Thursday local time.
Typhoon Meranti experienced rapid intensification early in the week, with wind speed increasing more than 150 km/h (95 mph) in a 24-hour period, said Dr. Peter Sousounis, assistant vice president and director of meteorology, AIR Worldwide. He said that although Meranti did not make landfall on Taiwan, most of the country has been impacted by the extreme winds and substantial precipitation – rainfall totals as great as 700 millimeters (28 inches) have been reported – due to the massive, 560 kilometer (350 mile) windfield.
Sousounis said Meranti brought “rough seas, a damaging surf, high storm surge, and heavy precipitation—in addition to extremely high winds—to southern Taiwan, resulting in dropped trees and power lines, some coastal flooding, and a high risk of mudslides in mountainous regions.”
The Taiwan Central Emergency Operating Center reported that approximately 1,500 people have been evacuated, many from mountainous areas with a high risk of mudslides. Also, according to government authorities, more than 260,000 households have lost power in southern Taiwan, and two nuclear power plants reportedly were shut as a precaution. Throughout southern Taiwan, schools and businesses were closed. Hundreds of domestic and international flights have been canceled, train service suspended, and bus service curtailed.
Boats being disabled, including a Kaohsiung freighter, which lost containers as it was swept away. Vehicles, too, have been washed away in flooded streets.
The heavy wind and flooding from Meranti is expected to delay some grain and oil shipments. State-owned Taiwanese oil refiner CPC Corp. and Formosa Petrochemical Corp., for instance, shuttered ports in Kaohsiung and Mailiao.
In the Philippines, the Batanes and Babuyan Islands were most strongly impacted by Meranti. The entire province of Batanes lost power Tuesday evening, and rescue teams were placed on standby. In addition, many farmers in affected islands harvested early to reduce crop loss.
According to AIR, Taiwan faces a serious threat from flooding, which is greatest along the southwestern mountains due to orographic lifting combined with occasional South China Sea monsoon-scale influences. The heavily urbanized areas of Taipei and Kaohsiung have sustained heavy flood damage during typhoons in the past.
According to AIR, strictly enforced building codes throughout the nation have resulted in structures with generally good wind resistance. Low- to mid-rise buildings in Taiwan typically have reinforced concrete frames with brick infill walls. Some masonry residential buildings can also be found, although the majority of these were built prior to 1950. In recent years, these residences have given way to mid-rise apartment buildings and three-story residences, with both types generally of masonry construction. Most buildings in the country are fairly new, however, and recent residences tend to be high-rise complexes built in clusters, predominantly reinforced concrete and many with ceramic façades (although some are steel).
The commercial and industrial buildings in Taiwan usually date to 1970 or later and generally are built to better structural standards than residences. About half of Taiwan’s commercial and industrial stock is made of steel while the rest is mostly reinforced concrete.
AIR officials said Taiwan’s residential buildings usually have commercial establishments on the first floor, while the upper stories are used for residential purposes. The mixed occupancy use in Taiwan makes the vulnerability of residential and commercial lines of business very similar.
RMS Assessment
Another risk modeling firm, RMS, reported that Taiwan is “generally well-equipped and prepared to deal with these storms and has good coastal defenses to mitigate against surge.” RMS said economic losses from typhoons in Taiwan tend to be limited since typhoons, including Meranti, approach from the east in this region while exposures are concentrated in the west of the island.
Meranti’s high winds affected the port and industrial cities of in Kaohsiung and Tainan in southwest Taiwan. According to RMS, in these cities the industrial clusters are dominated by the light industrial electronic, semiconductor and the bio-tech sectors and the buildings are generally designed to withstand typical extreme typhoon winds. RMS said its field surveys have found that buildings in industrial parks are sited on elevated ground to minimize flood risk, while the buildings themselves have stepped entrances, which further increases protection against flooding.
RMS also reported that while Meranti skirted past the east coast of Taiwan, early indications are that hurricane force winds toppled some cargo containers in the Kaohsiung port, while some ships have come unmoored. The industrial clusters may also have suffered peripheral impacts.
For China the low take-up rates for wind and flood insurance will limit the insurance impacts of the storm, according to RMS.
“Any ILS (insurance linked securities) exposure to China Typhoon will probably be via the more global collateralized re contracts and in more diversified portfolios – but even then it’s likely to be in very small proportions so losses from Meranti are not going to be of much concern for ILS investors,” said Ben Brookes, vice president, capital markets at RMS.
“Meranti is, however, yet another reminder of the huge potential for ILS in the region. It would be relatively straightforward to put parametric protection in place for an event like this. Category 4 and 5 storms that have the potential to strike regions of high populations and exposures are exactly the type of event such protection can be designed for, particularly if issued by a state sponsor,” said Brookes.
Sources: AIR Worldwide and RMS
Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Flood China Risk Management
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