Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | October 18, 2019 |
Dissipated | October 25, 2019 |
Very strong typhoon | |
10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
Highest winds | 185 km/h (115 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 935 hPa (mbar); 27.61 inHg |
Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
Highest winds | 260 km/h (160 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 922 hPa (mbar); 27.23 inHg |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | 13 |
Injuries | 13 |
Damage | >$200 million (2019 USD) |
Areas affected | Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Japan |
IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season |
Typhoon Bualoi was a tropical cyclone that formed during October 2019. The fortieth tropical depression, and the eleventh typhoon of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season, Bualoi originated from a disturbance east of the Marshall Islands on October 17, 2019, that quickly organized to a tropical depression on October 19, earning the designated name 22W. Favorable conditions strengthened the depression into a tropical storm. The Japan Meteorological Agency gave it the name Bualoi in response. Bualoi rapidly intensified and became a typhoon on October 20, before its rate of strengthening was stopped by a tropical upper tropospheric trough the following day. The rate was later recommenced through rapid intensification, making Bualoi reach its peak on October 22 as a Category 5-equivalent typhoon, with 10-minute sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) and one-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). Bualoi rapidly weakened on October 23 due to wind shear and continued before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone and dissipating on October 25.
After affecting the Mariana Islands, where an emergency declaration was issued, warm moist air flowed into Bualoi, causing the atmosphere to become unstable and produce torrential rains over Japan on October 25. Around that time, the country was still in the recovery process after Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis had devastated the archipelago. Most of the damage occurred in Chiba Prefecture, though other prefectures such as Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, were also affected. Across the prefectures, about half of the 13 fatalities took place in a car as the automobiles were swept or submerged in rivers flooded by the rain, and happened during evacuation. Transportation services were also stopped in the affected areas. About 4,998 houses were destroyed, contributing to the total of over US$200 million in damages.