Pacific Typhoon Season

(Dive Travel Business News - July 5, 2011)  -- Typhoons in East Asia and the West and Central Pacific regions north of the Equator may occur year-round however historically, the most active Pacific typhoon months are June through November, with peak months from August to October corresponding to Atlantic Hurricane Season. This basin features the most globally intense storms on record. The area just northeast of the Philippines is the most active place on Earth for tropical cyclones to exist. The most frequently impacted areas of the Philippines by tropical cyclones are northern Luzon and eastern Visayas where cyclone season peaks in September.

DEFINITION: A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.  The term "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic nature, with counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere. The opposite direction of spin is a result of the Coriolis force. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, tropical depression, cyclonic storm or simply cyclone.  

DAMAGE: AWhile tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge as well as spawning tornadoes and water spouts. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land due to increased surface friction and loss of the warm ocean as an energy source. This is why coastal regions can receive significant damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from receiving strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the coastline.

ACTIVITY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) predicts a 70 percent chance that activity during the 2011 Typhoon Season will be below normal in the Central Pacific basin. Each season the West and Central Pacific region experiences 31 typhoons on average, about half of which have the potential to cause severe destruction.

AWARENESS: Travelers to these regions must understand the serious nature of typhoon season, be aware of potential dangers and appropriate actions to take in an emergency. The U.S. Department of State advises that U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to East Asia and the West and Central Pacific region should monitor local weather reports and take appropriate action as needed.   Here is what a traveler might expect in case of a typhoon:

WHAT TO EXPECT: Many vacationers traveling abroad in this area during typhoon season are forced to delay their travel or return home because of infrastructure damage to airports and limited flight availability. Roads may be washed out or obstructed by debris, limiting or delaying access to airports and land routes out of affected areas. In the event of a typhoon, you should be aware that you may not be able to depart an affected area for 24 to 48 hours or more. We recommend that you obtain travel insurance to cover unexpected expenses during an emergency.

Minor tropical storms can develop into typhoons very quickly, limiting the time available for you to evacuate safely. Please tell family and friends in the United States of your whereabouts and keep in close contact with your tour operator, hotel staff, and local officials for evacuation instructions in the event of a weather emergency. Protect your travel and identity documents against loss or damage, as the need to replace lost documentation could hamper or delay your return to the United States.

In the aftermath of a storm, you may encounter uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous conditions after storms pass while you wait for transportation back to the United States. In many places, typhoons often are accompanied by damaging high tides and flooding. If you are living close to the ocean or other bodies of water, you may be at higher risk. Landslides and mudslides also are serious concerns during heavy periods of rain. Looting and sporadic violence sometimes occur after natural disasters. Be sure to check with local authorities for safety and security updates. Because weather conditions can damage local infrastructure, security personnel and other emergency responders may not be able to assist you at all times.

PREPAREDNESS: If you are living in or traveling to storm-prone regions overseas, you should prepare for typhoons and tropical storms by organizing a kit containing a supply of bottled water, non-perishable food items, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, and vital documents (such as your passport, other government-issued photo identification, birth certificate, etc.) in a waterproof container. Emergency shelters often provide only very basic resources and may have limited medical and food supplies.

MONITORING: You should monitor local media to stay aware of weather developments. For further information on typhoon warnings in the West and Central Pacific region, please consult the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu at http://www.usno.navy.mil/JTWC and the National Weather Service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center, http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/cphc, as well as Fiji’s regional meteorological center responsible for cyclone warnings in the South Pacific region at http://www.met.gov.fj.

CONTACTS: We encourage all U.S. citizens abroad to enroll with the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at travel.state.gov or with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. By enrolling, you can receive the nearest embassy or consulate's most recent security and safety updates during your trip. Enrolling also ensures that we can reach you, or your designated emergency points of contact, during an emergency. While consular officers will do their utmost to assist you in a crisis, please be aware that local authorities bear primary responsibility for the welfare of people living or traveling in their jurisdictions.

You will find additional information on cyclones and storm preparedness on the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Hurricane Preparedness Page. You can receive updated information on travel in typhoon-prone regions from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 within the United States and Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from other areas. If you travel in the region, please check the website belonging to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate with consular responsibilities for the location(s) you will be visiting. For further information please consult the Country Specific Information for the country or territory in question. Stay up to date by bookmarking our Bureau of Consular Affairs website, which contains the current Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts as well as the Worldwide Caution. Follow us on Twitter and the Bureau of Consular Affairs page on Facebook as well.

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Additional Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon