The 2009 Pacific typhoon season was a below average season that spawned only 22 named storms, 13 typhoons, and five super typhoons. Despite this, it was a very deadly season, with the Philippines having experienced its deadliest season in decades due to the impact of typhoons Ketsana and Parma, while typhoon Morakot went on to become the deadliest storm to impact Taiwan in its modern history. The first half of the season was very quiet, whereas the second half of the season was extremely active. During August, Typhoon Morakot devastated Taiwan, killing nearly 800 people and being known for being the deadliest typhoon to impact the country. Typhoons Ketsana and Parma both affected the Philippines, bringing extreme flooding that killed more than 1400 people in total. Typhoon Nida during late November reached 1-minute winds of 285 km/h (175 mph), which is the most intense in the basin since Typhoon Paka in 1997. The season ran throughout 2009, though most tropical cyclone tend to develop between May and November. The season's first named storm, Kujira, developed on May 3, while the season's last named storm, Nida, dissipated on December 3.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean to the north of the equator between 100°E and 180th meridian. Within the northwestern Pacific Ocean, there are two agencies which assign names to tropical cyclones which can often result in a cyclone having two names. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) will name a tropical cyclone if it has 10-minute sustained wind speeds of at least 65 km/h (40 mph) anywhere in the basin, while the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) assigns names to tropical cyclones which are active in the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), located between 135°E and 115°E and between 5°N–25°N, regardless of whether or not a tropical cyclone has already been given a name by the JMA. Tropical depressions that are monitored by the United States' Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) are given a number with a "W" suffix.
Seasonal forecasts
During each season, several national meteorological services and scientific agencies forecast how many tropical cyclones, tropical storms, and typhoons will form during a season and/or how many tropical cyclones will affect a particular country. These agencies include the Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) Consortium of the University College London, Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre of the City University of Hong Kong (GCACIC) and Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.
On January 4, PAGASA reported that they were expecting 19 or less tropical cyclones to affect the Philippines during 2009. During March, the TSR Consortium released their first forecast of the season and predicted that activity within the basin would be about 20% below normal with 25.6 tropical storms, 16 typhoons and 6.7 intense typhoons and an ACE index of around 247. Later that month the Hong Kong Observatory, predicted that the typhoon season in Hong Kong would be near normal with five to six tropical cyclones passing within 500 km (310 mi) of the territory compared to an average of 6. During April, the GCACIC issued its first seasonal forecast for the year and predicted that the season would see activity near its average with 31 tropical cyclones, 27 tropical storms, and 18 typhoons occurring during the season. The GCACIC also predicted that 4 tropical cyclones would make landfall on Southern China between April and August compared to an average of 3, they also predicted that no tropical cyclones would make landfall between August and December. On May 7, TSR increased its forecast to 27.5 tropical storms, 17.6 typhoons, 9.1 "intense" typhoons and an ACE index of about 311 units, after La Niña conditions weakened and confidence grew that La Niña conditions would not return during 2009. Later that month the Vietnamese National Center for Hydro Meteorological forecasts predicted that six or more tropical cyclones would affect Vietnam during 2009.
During June, the GCACIC reported that the total number of tropical cyclones had decreased from 31 to 30, and that the total number of typhoons had increased to 19, while there was no change to the number of tropical storms predicted to occur during the season. They also predicted that 3 tropical cyclones would make landfall on Southern China between July and December compared to an average of 4. On June 30, the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau predicted that the season would see activity near its average of 26.6, and predicted that between 24 – 27 tropical storms would occur over the Western Pacific. The Central Weather Bureau also predicted that of the 24-27 tropical storms forecast 3-5 of them would affect Taiwan. In their July and August forecasts TSR upped their prediction for the amount of intense typhoons by one to ten and eleven respectively, whilst predicting the same amount of tropical storms and typhoons. In July and August they also predicted that the season would now see activity about 20% above normal. After their initial prediction was surpassed by Tropical Depression Tino forming, PAGASA announced that they expecting two or three more cyclones to affect the Philippines, before the end of the year.
Season summary
The season started with Tropical Depression Auring east of the Philippines, which was then followed by Tropical Depression Bising a month later. After 2 months of inactivity, Tropical Depression Crising and Typhoon Kujira forms, and Kujira becoming the first major typhoon of the season, and was followed by the development of Typhoon Chan-hom in the South China Sea, and hit Pangasinan and crossed the Philippines. In mid-June, Severe Tropical Storm Linfa and Tropical Storm Nangka form and hit the Philippines.
It was followed 1 month later by Tropical Storm Soudelor, which passed through the Batanes Strait and headed for China, and followed by Tropical Depression Huaning which hit Taiwan. Typhoon Molave and Tropical Storm Goni head for China, while Typhoon Morakot becomes the most-costliest storm in Taiwanese history. Tropical Storm Etau briefly forms, and followed by Tropical Depression Maka from the Central Pacific basin, while Typhoon Vamco develops into a Category 4 but barely affects any major landmass. Krovanh peaks as a severe tropical storm, while Dujuan heads northeastward, and not affecting any landmass. Tropical Storm Mujigae forms in the South China Sea, which is followed by Typhoon Koppu, which crossed Northern Luzon. Typhoon Ketsana drops record rainfall in the Philippines, and is followed by Typhoon Parma which drops more rainfall to the already saturated Philippines. Typhoon Melor becomes a Category 5 while Nepartak briefly forms as a tropical storm, and Lupit becomes another Category 5 and nearly hits the Philippines before heading northeast. Typhoon Mirinae hits Central Luzon, causing more damages and misery to the Philippines. Tropical Depression Tino and Urduja briefly form, and Typhoon Nida (Vinta) becomes the strongest and final named storm of the season, which is then followed by a weak tropical depression in late December 2009. Due to many typhoons hitting the Philippines, the 2009 Pacific typhoon season was the costliest season for the Philippines on record.
Systems
Tropical Depression Auring
Tropical Depression Auring formed as a tropical disturbance late on December 30, 2008, to the southeast of Manila in the Philippines. Over the next few days the disturbance gradually developed before early on January 3, both PAGASA and the JMA, reported that the disturbance had intensified into the first tropical depression of the season with PAGASA assigning the name Auring to the depression. As the depression was moving into a high level of vertical wind shear, it did not develop any further and late on January 5 as the baroclinic zone approached Auring, it was downgraded to a low-pressure area by PAGASA before the JMA followed suit the next day as it was declared as dissipated by the JTWC.
Heavy rain from Auring produced severe flooding in the eastern Philippines. Two people were killed and nine others were left missing. A total of 305 homes were destroyed and another 610 were damaged. In addition, an estimated 53 hectares (130 acres) of rice and 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres) of corn were damaged. About 43,851 people were affected by the depression and damages were estimated at PHP 23 million (498,318 USD).
Tropical Depression Bising
Early on February 12, PAGASA reported that a low-pressure area located about 140 km (87 mi) to the east of Surigao City in the Philippines had intensified into a tropical depression. During that day the depression gradually moved towards the west with its peak windspeeds estimated at 45 km/h (30 mph). Early the next morning after the depression had made landfall on Dinagat Island, PAGASA released its final advisory as the depression had weakened into an area of low pressure.
An estimated 473 passengers and several vehicles were stranded in Liloan and Ormoc due to ferry cancellations. In Cebu, an estimated 1,600 passengers were also stranded due to the depression. Late on February 13, the remnants of Bising brought scattered rainshowers across Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, and Visayas, then dissipated. The rainfall led to mudslides on Cebu Island which blocked the Cebu Transcentral Highway.
Tropical Depression Crising
On April 29, the JTWC reported that an area of deep convection had persisted near the center of an elongated low-level circulation center, in area of low vertical windshear, about 400 km (250 mi), to the west of Manila in the Philippines. Deep convective banding was curving into an eastern southern edges of the disturbance. During the day the disturbance gradually consolidated further under the influence of an anticyclone, as a result of this the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the system. Early the next morning PAGASA upgraded the disturbance to a tropical depression and named it as Crising as it reached its 10-minute peak windspeeds of 55 km/h (35 mph). Later that day the JTWC reported that Crising's low-level circulation center has weakened and was now poorly organized as it underwent a Fujiwhara effect with what was to become Typhoon Kujira (Dante). PAGASA kept issuing advisories on Crising until it weakened into a low-pressure area early on May 1.
Heavy rains produced by the outer bands of Crising caused flooding in western areas of the Philippines, affecting an estimated 2,500 people. The worst flooding occurred in Lucena City where ten villages were isolated. Areas along the Bucon and Inalmasinan Rivers were inundated and sustained significant crop losses. Several animals reportedly drowned in the region. Several roads were impassable due to landslides or were washed out by floodwaters. One bridge was destroyed in the town of Mercedes.
Typhoon Kujira (Dante)
Early on April 26, an area of disturbed weather formed near the coastline of Baler, capital of the Philippine's Aurora province. It was formerly a tail end of cold front that passed by Northern Luzon. JTWC assessed that the area of a disturbed weather potential of becoming developing into a significant Tropical Cyclone within 24 hours as "fair". However, on April 28, JTWC downgraded the disturbance as dissipating because of interaction with nearby middle Tropical Depression Crising and JMA Tropical Depression 03. A few days later, the disturbance moved south-westward, and late on April 30, the disturbance made landfall at Albay. On May 1, JTWC again upgraded the disturbance into having a potential to form into a significant Tropical Cyclone within 24 hours to "fair". And later that day, PAGASA classified the disturbance as a tropical depression, naming it "Dante" and issued public storm warning signal number one in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, Masbate, Burias Island, and Southern Quezon. PAGASA also reported that Dante made landfall in the vicinity of Sorsogon within the Bicol region of the Philippines. Early on May 2, JTWC issued a TCFA as the depression was in an almost stationary position. Later that day, JMA classified Dante as a full depression. Early the next morning it became a tropical storm and was named Kujira. Kujira continued to strengthen and was upgraded to a severe tropical storm that afternoon.
When it was over the Philippines it killed 27 people while 9 others are missing. The JMA upgraded the system to a typhoon early on May 4. Kujira intensified quickly, doubling in strength from a Category 2 typhoon to a Category 4-equivalent typhoon within 24 hours. On May 6, The JTWC reported that Kujira was in its beginning stages of becoming extratropical, with the low-level circulation center almost fully exposed in association with increasing vertical wind shear and lower sea surface temperatures in the region. Late that, JMA downgraded Kujira to a Severe Tropical Storm as strong wind shear weakens the system. Then early on May 7, JTWC issued its last advisory on Kujira, already reporting it as an extratropical system. JMA continued to issue warnings on the system while at the same time it was downgraded to a tropical storm. Later on May 7, Kujira weakened further, becoming a fully extratropical cyclone.
While in the Philippine area of responsibility, Kujira caused some 625,709,464 worth of damage to crops and livestock in Albay, Camarines Norte, Masbate and Sorsogon. It also caused some 102 million pesos worth of damage to communal irrigation systems in the region. The NDCC update as of 6AM PST May 12 declared 28 dead, one missing and 5 injured. Further, 383,457 persons in 609 barangays of 60 municipalities and 4 cities in 5 provinces of Region V were affected by the storm. Damages are worth PhP 1,228,422,344 million or PhP1.228 billion of which PhP 625,709,464 are agricultural losses and PhP 529.525 million in infrastructural. Houses destroyed were at 2387, of which 138 were total and 2249 partial.