Name that Typhoon: Why International Names are Important

In our country prone to disasters, typhoons come and go. But some of these typhoons are not easily forgotten because of the havoc they’ve wreaked to lives and property.

One of which is Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) that made landfall last November 8, 2013. Considered as one of the planet’s most catastrophic storms, Yolanda affected millions of people, killing thousands, and destroying infrastructure worth billions of pesos in the Philippines alone. The typhoon also affected other countries, such as Micronesia, Palau, Southern China and Vietnam.

Because a typhoon can affect more than one country, an international name needs to be assigned for the easy reference and monitoring by various weather and media groups across the globe. An international name also creates recall among all nations, allowing for the easy identification of its strength and impact.

In the same way that the name Yolanda triggers a host of sad memories for us, Filipinos, the name Haiyan also conjures devastating images for the rest of humanity. According to Dr. Jeff Masters, Haiyan maintained winds of 190 to 195 miles per hour (mph) at landfall, making it the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in global history. The previous record was held by the Atlantic’s Hurricane Camille of 1969, which made landfall in Mississippi with wind speeds of 190 mph.

Listed below are some of the World’s Strongest Typhoons

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.

In this regard, a new list of Asian names was contributed by all the member nations of the World Meteorological Organization‘s (WMO) Typhoon Committee in January 1, 2000. Majority of the names includes flowers, animals, birds, trees, food and adjectives. A typhoon name is retired when it has caused massive death and damages. Below is the list of names for developing tropical cyclones in the Northwest-Pacific basin within a six-year time frame. The assigned international names for 2016 typhoons can be found on column IV.

The corresponding meanings of the names are listed below:

Sources:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2573
http://coast.noaa.gov/hes/docs/postStorm/H_CAMILLE.pdf
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh
https://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/wmo-community-mobilizes-for-haiyan_en.html