Typhoon Jebi (2018)


Typhoon Jebi, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Maymay, was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Japan since Yancy in 1993 as well as the third costliest typhoon on record. Jebi formed as a tropical depression on August 26, before becoming the twenty-first named storm of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season on August 28. It rapidly intensified into a typhoon on the following day and reached its peak intensity on August 31, after striking the Northern Mariana Islands. Jebi initiated a slow weakening trend on September 2 and made landfall over Shikoku, and then the Kansai region of Japan on September 4.

Meteorological history

A low-pressure area formed near the Marshall Islands early on August 25. It remained devoid of a low-level circulation center next day; however, the system developed further on August 27 and both the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center upgraded it to a tropical depression, based on persistent deep convection wrapping into a consolidating LLCC. Early on August 28, the system was upgraded to a tropical storm, with JMA assigning the storm the international name Jebi. On the August 29, the JMA upgraded the storm to a typhoon, after it developed an eye with a central dense overcast, and underwent rapid intensification. Jebi continued to intensify, becoming the third super typhoon of the season and also the second Category 5-equivalent super typhoon of the season.
On September 4, Jebi made its first landfall over the southern part of Tokushima Prefecture at around 12:00 JST. Afterward, Jebi crossed Osaka Bay and made its second landfall over Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture at around 14:00 JST, and then moved over Osaka and Kyoto prefectures, before ultimately emerging into the Sea of Japan shortly after 15:00 JST. Simultaneously, a cold front formed southwest of the typhoon, indicating the beginning of an extratropical transition. On September 5, after JTWC issued a final warning at 00:00 JST, Jebi was downgraded to a severe tropical storm at 03:00 JST, when it was located near the Shakotan Peninsula of Hokkaido. The storm completely transitioned into a tropical storm-force extratropical cyclone off the coast of Primorsky Krai, Russia, shortly before 10:00 VLAT. Later, the extratropical cyclone moved inland. The terrain of Khabarovsk Krai contributed to the steadily weakening of the storm as the it moved inland northwestward and then turned northward; Jebi's extratropical low passed northeast of Ayan early on September 7. Jebi's extratropical remnant continued northward, and then turned northeastward, before dissipating on early September 9 over the Arctic Ocean.

Effects

Taiwan

Typhoon Jebi brought large waves to the east coast of Taiwan on September 2 and 3 when it recurved northward east of the Ryukyu Islands. On September 2, at the Mystery Beach in Nan'ao Township, Yilan County, deadly incidents involving large waves were reported on September 2, causing 5 fatalities; the other one death also occurred at the Neipi Beach in Su'ao Township. In the next morning, also at the Neipi Beach, a middle-aged woman was also swept away by the waves; however, it was reported that she walked into the waves and stayed in the ocean, presumed to be a suicidal action.

Japan

Typhoon Jebi was the most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall on Japan since Typhoon Yancy in 1993, causing significant damage in the Kansai region. Fourteen people were killed across the country and 46 others were seriously injured, while another 934 people received minor injuries. The typhoon's strong winds damaged 97,910 houses, of which 68 collapsed and 833 suffered major damage, while heavy rains and storm surge flooded another 707 houses. Another 6,527 buildings were damaged. Insured losses were estimated at over JP¥1.6 trillion. Ahead of the storm, emergency evacuation orders were issued for parts of Osaka, Hyōgo, Nara, Wakayama, and Kagawa prefectures. Evacuation advisories were also issued for Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, Kyoto, Okayama, Tokushima, and Kochi prefectures. In Osaka, department stores and other commercial facilities were closed. Public schools were closed in the cities of Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, as well as in Wakayama Prefecture. Several tourist attractions were closed to visitors, including Universal Studios Japan, the Kyoto City Zoo, the Kyoto Aquarium, Nijō Castle, and the Kyoto Imperial Palace. JR-West suspended operations in the Keihanshin region on September 4. Services along the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, as well as the San'yō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Hiroshima stations, were also halted on September 4. More than 700 flights in and out of Osaka were cancelled.
Jebi set new records for 10-minute maximum sustained winds at 53 weather stations and broke records for wind gusts at 100 weather stations in Japan, mostly on September 4. The highest sustained winds from Jebi were recorded at Cape Muroto, at. At Kankūjima, a gust of was recorded, significantly higher than the previous record for the airport. Significant winds occurred even in urban areas, with downtown Wakayama experiencing maximum sustained winds of up to and gusts reaching. Similarly, the financial center of Osaka, Chūō-ku, recorded a maximum gust of. Jebi also produced a maximum storm surge of in Osaka, surpassing the previous record of from the 2nd Muroto Typhoon in 1961.
Kansai International Airport was forced to close on September 4, as waves reaching overtopped coastal defenses and left a runway inundated. Access to the island was cut off on September 4 following damage to the only bridge connecting the airport to the mainland when a 2,591-tonne tanker was unmoored by Jebi's strong winds and collided with the bridge. As a result, 8,000 passengers and staff were stranded in the airport and were evacuated by ferries and speedboats on September 5. The terminals experienced power outages, leaving passengers to wait without air conditioning. Partial operation of the airport resumed on September 6, with flights allowed to operate out of the undamaged Terminal 2. Other flights were redirected to nearby Itami Airport and Kobe Airport. Terminal 1 began to resume operations on September 13 and the previously flooded runway reopened on September 14. The airport reopened fully on September 21, following repairs to an electric power facility and a baggage claim area at Terminal 1. Repairs to the access bridge continued and were completed in April 2019.