Severe Tropical Storm Trami, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, was a large, slow-moving, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread and disastrous flooding and numerous fatalities across the Philippines and later impacted Vietnam, Thailand, and China in late October 2024. It was also the first tropical cyclone in a consecutive series to impact the Philippines in late 2024, before Typhoons Kong-rey, Yinxing, Toraji, Usagi, and Man-yi. The twentieth named storm of the annual typhoon season, Trami developed into a low-pressure area and later into a tropical depression west of Guam on October 19, moving westward along the southern periphery.
After entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility, PAGASA named the depression Kristine on October 20. Early the next day, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) upgraded the system to a tropical storm, naming it Trami, as spiral bands of deep convection formed around the low-level circulation. By October 23, Trami intensified into a severe tropical storm as it moved west-northwestward and made landfall in Divilacan, Isabela. On October 26, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that the system had peaked as a Category 1-equivalent typhoon after Trami attained 1-minute sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph), while the JMA indicated that Trami reached its peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 110 km/h (70 mph) and a central pressure of 970 hPa (28.64 inHg). The storm made landfall the next day in Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang and moved near the Laos–Vietnam border, where its circulation center became fully exposed before making a U-turn and gradually shifted back toward the coastal regions of Vietnam. The JMA continued to monitor the system, which further weakened into a low-pressure area at 18:00 UTC on October 29.
PAGASA forecast that the wind flow directed towards the storm would bring strong to gale-force winds to several regions in the Philippines, prompting the issuance of Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals for various areas. A red alert warning was issued for the Bicol Region, the Cordillera Administrative Region, and the Ilocos Region, while officials from Batanes and Ilocos Norte had expressed concerns about potential further damage to their provinces, as they were still recovering from Typhoon Krathon earlier in the year. In Daet, Camarines Norte, PAGASA recorded 528.5 mm (20.81 in) of rain from Trami, marking the highest 24-hour rainfall since the 1920s and surpassing the previous record of 507.5 mm (19.98 in) set in December 2000. Coastal areas of Hainan Province in South China issued a red alert, the highest warning level, due to the approaching storm, forcing over 40,000 people to evacuate. Strong winds in Da Nang, toppled trees and billboards, while heavy rainfall in Quang Tri province caused severe flooding, leaving 18,000 people without power. In Thailand, flooding was reported in Bang Sai District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province. Overall, Trami was responsible for 179 deaths, with 23 people reported missing and 151 others injured, causing approximately US$405 million in damages. Owing to the damages and deaths, PAGASA retired the name Kristine after the season and was replaced with Kidul for the 2028 season. In February 2025, the name Trami was also retired by the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee and was replaced with Hoaban in 2026.
Meteorological history
The origins of Severe Tropical Storm Trami could be traced back to October 19, when the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported a low-pressure area located 633 km (394 mi) west of Guam. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) described it as a very weak vortex with light winds wrapping around the circulation, along with deep moisture fields to the southwest that began to encircle the vortex. The low-pressure area later moved westward slowly before it was designated as a tropical depression by the JMA. At 15:00 UTC that day, the JTWC issued a tropical cyclone formation alert, indicating a consolidating low-level circulation center bounded by formative convective banding that wrapped around its northern and southern edges. The depression moved westward along the southern periphery of a mid-level subtropical high, which made conditions favorable for tropical cyclogenesis due to low vertical wind shear, warm sea surface temperatures, and high ocean heat content. The following day, the JTWC designated the system as 22W, as low-level banding wrapped into the circulation center, with a tightly curved convective band wrapping along the eastern edge of the circulation. After entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the depression was named Kristine by the PAGASA at 05:00 PHT on October 21 (21:00 UTC on October 20) and was embedded within the larger trough that extended from the Philippines eastward almost to Guam.
Early the next day, satellite imagery revealed that the depression had become exposed, featuring elongated circulation and convective bands wrapping around the center. At 18:00 UTC that day, the JMA upgraded the system to a tropical storm and named it Trami, with spiral bands of deep convection starting to wrap around the low-level circulation. Trami moved westward along the southern edge of a mid-level subtropical high, developing spiral bands of deep convection that wrapped around a partly exposed low-level circulation center just east of Luzon Island, while its deep convective banding was displaced over the southwestern quadrant due to northeasterly vertical wind shear. As Trami approached Luzon, its central dense overcast (CDO) became sheared and displaced from its central circulation, featuring moderate upper-level outflow and a partially exposed circulation center located to the northeast of the primary broad central convection. At around 06:00 UTC on October 23, the JMA reported that Trami had intensified into a severe tropical storm as it moved west-northwestward along the southwestern edge of a mid-level subtropical high, with deep convection developing in the southwestern quadrant of a broad, partially exposed low-level circulation. At 12:30 AM PHT on October 24 (16:30 UTC on October 23), the storm made landfall in Divilacan, Isabela, where it exhibited a circular CDO characterized by fragmented convection as it moved across central Luzon. The following day, Trami emerged over the coastal waters of southern Ilocos Sur. Surface observations and radar data revealed that the storm had undergone a lee-side jump, leaving behind the remnants of a circulation center over Northern Luzon. Meanwhile, the mid-level rotation shifted slowly westward into the eastern South China Sea. Later, satellite imagery showed a consolidating CDO, indicating a well-defined circulation with most of the deep convection situated to the south. As it moved westward along the southern periphery, satellite imagery indicated an asymmetric system, featuring minimal significant convection in the northern circulation, while the southern circulation displayed a convective mass with cloud tops colder than −91 °C (−132 °F). On October 26, the JTWC reported that the system had peaked as a Category 1-equivalent typhoon after Trami attained 1-minute sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph), while the JMA indicated that Trami reached its peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 110 km/h (70 mph) and a central pressure of 970 hPa (28.64 inHg). Operationally, the JTWC classified Trami as a tropical storm with winds of 110 km/h (70 mph), but a post-cyclone reanalysis later determined that it had reached a peak wind speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).
Trami encountered strong easterly vertical wind shear as it approached the coast of Vietnam, which caused its core convection to become more linear. It made landfall in Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang at about 10:00 a.m. local time on October 27, before drifting slowly inland while moving southwestward over the next several hours. The storm rapidly weakened as it moved around the Laos–Vietnam border, causing the circulation center to become fully exposed as it weakened into a tropical depression. It then moved southwestward due to weak steering flow before making a U-turn and gradually moving toward the coastal regions of Vietnam.
At 21:00 UTC on October 28, the JTWC discontinued warnings on the system as its mid-level rotation winds were displaced from the center. The JMA continued to monitor the system, which further weakened into a low-pressure area at 18:00 UTC the following day.
Preparations
Philippines
Highest Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal
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PAGASA stated that the wind flow directed towards the circulation of the storm brought strong to gale-force winds to several regions in the Philippines. Shortly after upgrading the storm, PAGASA issued Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 for various areas, including Biliran, Batanes, Burias Island, Dinagat Islands, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Masbate, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Sorsogon, Samar, Southern Leyte, Siargao, Surigao del Norte (including Bucas Grande Islands), and Ticao Island. After Trami developed into a tropical storm, PAGASA raised Signal No. 2 for Abra, Albay, Apayao, Babuyan Islands, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Cavite, Ilocos Norte, Laguna, Metro Manila, Pampanga, Quezon (including Polillo Islands and Lubang Islands), Rizal, the northern portion of Eastern Samar, as well as the northeastern portion of Northern Samar and Sorsogon.
On October 23, the agency added the whole province of Aklan, Antique (including Caluya Islands), Bohol, Capiz, Cebu (including Bantayan Islands and Camotes Islands), Guimaras, and Iloilo, as well as the northern portion of Negros Occidental; Negros Oriental; and Palawan (including Calamian Islands, Cuyo Islands, and Kalayaan Islands) due to the effects of Trami. After the storm reached the severe tropical storm category, the agency raised Signal No. 3, indicating an expectation of winds of 89–117 km/h (55–73 mph) within the next 18 hours for Benguet, Ifugao, Isabela, Kalinga, La Union, Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Quirino, the central portion of Abra, the northern and central portions of Aurora, the northern portion of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales, the southern portion of Cagayan, and the central and southern portions of Ilocos Sur.
PAGASA issued storm surge warnings for portions of Albay, Aurora, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, Isabela, Quezon, and Camarines Sur.
A red alert warning was issued for the Bicol Region, the Cordillera Administrative Region, and the Ilocos Region. The NDRRMC reported that 168,039 people were preemptively evacuated. The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council activated all response clusters, urging communities to take necessary precautions in preparation for Trami.
Orange rainfall warnings were issued for Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, the northern portion of Leyte, and northern Cebu, with PAGASA cautioning that flooding could occur in low-lying areas.
The Office of Civil Defense anticipated that the storm would affect approximately 30 million individuals across different regions and announced that it had initiated the Charlie protocol—its highest level of emergency readiness—in seven areas due to the anticipated effects.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology also raised lahar advisories for Mayon Volcano. Officials from Batanes and Ilocos Norte expressed concern about the potential for further damage to their provinces due to the storm’s expected impact, especially since these areas were still recovering from Typhoon Krathon (Julian) in 2024. The Magat, Ipo, San Roque, Ambuklao, and Binga Dams opened spillways as a precaution. The Department of Agriculture urged farmers to harvest their rice before the storm.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) banned sea travel in the three provinces of Samar island, with the greatest loss travel going to island communities. Regional offices in Bicol also prepared family food packs in the wake of the storm. The PCG stated that 8,786 people were stranded in ports across the country, including 162 people in Southern Tagalog, 2,450 in Bicol, 2,109 in Eastern Visayas, and 490 in Central Visayas.
In Sorsogon, the Kasanggayahan Festival was canceled, while the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines postponed sports competitions scheduled on October 23–25. Several airports across the country were disrupted, while at least 51 flight cancellations were reported, stranding more than 1,000 passengers. Schools and non-essential government offices in Luzon were suspended on October 23–25. Multiple trips originating from the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange were cancelled following the storm.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority suspended number coding in Metro Manila on October 23–25. The Professional Regulation Commission postponed the Certified Public Accountants Licensure Exam due to the storm's impact on both testing centers and examinees.
Elsewhere
Trami was expected to be the sixth typhoon to strike Vietnam according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà urged relevant government agencies to prepare for Trami's impact. A total of 285,480 soldiers and militia personnel, along with 12,503 military vehicles, were deployed in response to the impending storm. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam reported that four airports in central coast Vietnam, from north to south, included Đồng Hới, Phú Bài, Đà Nẵng, Chu Lai, would suspend operations, while authorities in Quảng Bình announced a ban on all coastal activities starting at midnight on October 27. Quang Nam province has evacuated 4,412 households, totaling 18,306 individuals across 10 localities, while Da Nang has relocated more than 6,200 residents from boarding houses and temporary accommodations to safer areas. The coastal areas of Hainan Province in South China issued a red alert, the highest warning level, due to an approaching storm, which forced over 40,000 people to evacuate.
The leader of the Nam Trà My district announced that the locality prepared an evacuation plan for 1,341 households, totaling 5,832 residents, due to the risk of landslides from heavy rains associated with the storm. The Thai Meteorological Department cautioned that Trami would bring heavy rainfall and strong winds to Thailand. On October 23, the Central Weather Administration issued heavy rain warnings for the Greater Taipei and Yilan–Hualien areas despite Trami not expecting to directly affect Taiwan. The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) issued a signal number 1 warning for the city on October 25 at 1:40 AM. At 10:40 AM on October 26, the HKO issued a signal number 3 warning, and the following day, at 12:20 AM, they announced the cancellation of all tropical cyclone signals.
Impact
Philippines
Despite passing over Northern Luzon, the combination of Trami and the enhanced southwest monsoon caused the heaviest rain to fall in areas farther south of the storm. This ultimately brought massive, devastating flooding to the Bicol Region and Calabarzon, where daily precipitation totals exceeded 300 mm (12 in) between October 22 to October 24.