O Typhoon Haiyan reached the territory of the Philippines, in Southeast Asia, in early November 2013, becoming one of the most catastrophic natural events of the year. Its intensity met one of the highest standards, with winds reaching 300 km/h, victimizing a number of people that, according to some estimates, reach tens of thousands.
After reaching much of the Philippine space, Haiyan – now a little weaker – headed towards the southern China, where he found some provinces, and arrived in Vietnam, where he made a smaller number of victims.
Although the affected region has already witnessed the passage of numerous hurricanes of the same type, the “supertyphoon” Haiyan, soon after its passage, has already been considered the deadliest in the history of the Philippines, but not necessarily the strongest that has ever passed through the country, even though it is categorized in a scale of 5, the largest possible.
What is a Typhoon? Wouldn't it be better to say “Hurricane Haiyan”?
Typhoons, like hurricanes, are tropical cyclones characterized by strong winds, with speeds equal to or greater than 180 km/h. The difference between the two terms is that typhoons occur in the Pacific Ocean (such as Typhoon Haiyan), while hurricanes form in the Atlantic Ocean. When the phenomenon manifests itself in the Indian Ocean, it is called Cyclone, which is a more generic term to describe all related phenomena.
How did Typhoon Haiyan come about?
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Typhoons form in oceanic areas with low atmospheric pressure where rapid water heating occurs. As a result, there is an accelerated evaporation in the region in question, when dense clouds form that begin to move quickly, due to the Coriolis Effect and the rotation movement terrestrial. In the case of the Hayan, located in the Southern Hemisphere, the movements occurred in a counterclockwise direction.
The Haiyan case is still a source of investigation, but it is known that it was caused by the warming of the Pacific waters in its northwestern portion. In cases like this, the extraordinary strength of the weather event is caused by the absence of winds in the region of its formation that would be able to attenuate its strength and speed. On the contrary, as it moved westward, it encountered more warm ocean waters and gained more and more heat and, consequently, became more intense.
Some experts, as well as part of the press, have been considering the hypothesis that Typhoon Haiyan had its formation related to Global Warming. The main argument in this regard is that strong typhoons like this one are becoming more and more frequent, contrary to what happened in the past. However, it is still too early to draw any kind of conclusion about it, given that information is still scarce and data is not always very accurate.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "The devastation of Typhoon Haiyan"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/a-devastacao-tufao-haiyan.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
