:Typhoon Saudel

{{Infobox weather event

| name = Typhoon Saudel (Pepito)

| image = Saudel 2020-10-23 0315Z.jpg

| caption = Saudel in the South China Sea on October 23

| formed = October 18, 2020

| dissipated = October 25, 2020

}}{{Infobox weather event/JMA

| winds = 65

| pressure = 975

}}{{Infobox weather event/JTWC

| winds = 75

| pressure = 975

| basin = Wpac

}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects

| year = 2020

| fatalities = None

| damages = 15000000

| areas = Philippines, South China, Vietnam

}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer

| season = 2020 Pacific typhoon season

}}

Typhoon Saudel, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pepito, was a typhoon that affected the Philippines, Vietnam and Southern China in late October 2020. It was seventeenth tropical storm and seventh typhoon of the 2020 Pacific typhoon season. The name Saudel was used for the first time, replacing Typhoon Soudelor in 2015, which caused serious damage in Taiwan and Mainland China. Saudel formed from a tropical disturbance east of the Philippines. The disturbance gradually organized and crossed the Philippines as a tropical storm. Once the system emerged into the South China Sea, it began to rapidly organize and intensify, becoming a typhoon early on October 22.

Saudel flooded roads and buildings in the Philippines. It also affected Vietnam, which has been devastated by flooding caused by multiple tropical systems, although no damage was reported. Strong winds and high seas were recorded off the coast of Malaysia, prompting a tropical cyclone advisory to be issued. In Hainan, China, winds gusted at up to 130 km/h (80 mph). The total damage caused by Saudel is estimated to be more than $15 million.{{cite web |url=http://thoughtleadership.aon.com/documents/20201111_analytics-if-october-global-recap.pdf |title=Global Catastrophe Recap |date=October 2020 |website=thoughtleadership.aon.com |access-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112110151/http://thoughtleadership.aon.com/documents/20201111_analytics-if-october-global-recap.pdf |url-status=live }}

Meteorological history

At 15:00 UTC on October 16, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began tracking an area of atmospheric convection, or thunderstorms, approximately {{convert|463|nmi|km}} east-southeast of Palau.{{Cite web|date=October 16, 2020|title=Significant Tropical Weather Advisory for the Western and South Pacific Ocean|url=https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/abpwweb.txt|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518171103/https://www.wis-jma.go.jp/d/o/PGTW/Alphanumeric/Analysis/Miscellaneous/20200513/180000/A_ABIO10PGTW131800_C_RJTD_20200513171946_85.txt|archive-date=May 18, 2020|access-date=October 16, 2020|website=Joint Typhoon Warning Center}} On October 18 at 21:00 UTC, PAGASA upgraded the system to a tropical depression, and named the system Pepito.{{Cite web|date=October 18, 2020|title=Severe Weather Bulletin #8 on Tropical Depression "Pepito"|url=http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828050055/http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|archive-date=August 28, 2020|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=PAGASA}} A few hours later, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) also recognized the system as a tropical depression,{{Cite web|date=October 19, 2020|title=Tropical Cyclone Information|url=https://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/a.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019020409/https://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/a.html|archive-date=October 19, 2020|access-date=October 19, 2020|website=Japan Meteorological Agency}} and subsequently issued their first warning.{{Cite web|date=October 19, 2020|title=Tropical Depression 19W (Nineteen) Warning No. 1|url=https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920web.txt|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019034850/https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920web.txt|archive-date=October 19, 2020|access-date=October 19, 2020|website=Joint Typhoon Warning Center}} On October 20, as the system intensified while approaching northern Luzon, the JMA upgraded the system into a tropical storm and named the system Saudel.{{Cite web|date=October 20, 2020|title=Tropical Cyclone Information|url=http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/2017.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201020040332/http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/2017.html|archive-date=October 20, 2020|access-date=October 20, 2020|website=Japan Meteorological Agency}} PAGASA followed suit later that day.{{Cite web|date=October 20, 2020|title=Severe Weather Bulletin #8 on Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)|url=http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020040543/http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|archive-date=October 20, 2020|access-date=October 20, 2020|website=PAGASA}} Saudel made landfall over the San Ildefonso Peninsula in Casiguran, Aurora on October 20 at 13:00 UTC (21:00 PHT) and began crossing Luzon, emerging over the South China Sea hours later.{{Cite web|date=October 21, 2020|title=Severe Weather Bulletin #12 for Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)|url=http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin/SWB%2312.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201021011322/http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin/SWB%252312.pdf|archive-date=October 21, 2020|access-date=October 21, 2020|website=PAGASA}}{{Cite web|date=October 21, 2020|title=Severe Weather Bulletin #15 for Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)|url=http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021011758/http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|archive-date=October 21, 2020|access-date=October 21, 2020|website=PAGASA}} As the storm left the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the developing system was upgraded to a typhoon by the JMA, the JTWC, and PAGASA in their final bulletin for the system.{{Cite web|date=October 22, 2020|title=Tropical Cyclone Information|url=https://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/2017.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201022045555/https://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/2017.html|archive-date=October 22, 2020|access-date=October 22, 2020|website=Japan Meteorological Agency}}{{Cite JTWC|date=October 22, 2020|type=warn|category=TY|designation=19W|no=13|name=Saudel|url=https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920web.txt|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019034850/https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920web.txt}} [https://archive.org/download/jtwc-archive-txt-2020-partial-09-12/2020-10-22-0240-wp1920web.txt Alt URL]{{Cite web|date=October 22, 2020|title=Severe Weather Bulletin #19-FINAL for Typhoon "Pepito" (Saudel)|url=http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022050013/http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|archive-date=October 22, 2020|access-date=October 22, 2020|website=PAGASA}} Saudel continued to gain strength gradually, and during 3:00 UTC on October 23, it reached its peak intensity, with the JTWC estimating 1-minute sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h), making the system a low-end category 2 typhoon,{{Cite web|date=2020-10-26|title=Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System Track File for Typhoon 22W (Saudel)|url=https://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/ATCF/JTWC/bwp192020.dat|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206144209/https://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/ATCF/JTWC/bwp192020.dat|archive-date=2020-12-06|access-date=2020-12-06|website=National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration}} {{Citation needed span|text=and a pressure of 965 mbar was estimated by the JMA.|date=December 2020|reason=}} However, this intensity was short-lived, and at 9:00 UTC JTWC downgraded Saudel to a category 1 typhoon. As it approached Vietnam, it began to rapidly weaken due to high vertical wind shear and was downgraded to a tropical storm on October 24.{{Cite JTWC|date=2020-10-24|type=prog|category=TS|designation=19W|no=21|name=Saudel|url=https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920prog.txt|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019043403/https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920prog.txt}} [https://archive.org/download/jtwc-archive-prog-2020-partial-09-12/2020-10-24-0740-wp1920prog.txt Alt URL] The next day, it was downgraded to a remnant low as its center became mostly devoid of any deep convection.{{Cite web|date=October 25, 2020|title=Tropical Depression Saudel warning NR 028|url=https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920web.txt|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 19, 2020|access-date=October 25, 2020|website=Joint Typhoon Warning Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019034850/https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1920web.txt}}

Preparations and impact

=Philippines=

File:Saudel 2020-10-20 0245Z.jpg

After PAGASA declared Saudel a tropical storm, the agency issued Signal #2 tropical cyclone warnings in preparation for the storm's landfall.{{Cite web|date=October 20, 2020|title=Severe Weather Bulletin #8 on Tropical Storm "Pepito" (Saudel)|url=http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020040543/http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin.pdf|archive-date=October 20, 2020|access-date=October 20, 2020|website=PAGASA}} Prior to making landfall, Signal #2 was raised in 10 provinces and in parts of 4 provinces.{{Cite PAGASA|date=October 20, 2020|name=Pepito|intl_name=Saudel|type=swb|no=12|category=TS|url=http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin/SWB%2312.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022000000/http://pubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tamss/weather/bulletin/SWB%2312.pdf|archive-date=October 22, 2020}} [https://archive.org/download/pagasa-20-19W/PAGASA_20-19W_Pepito_SWB%2312.pdf Alt URL] In Quezon, many streets were flooded and people used boats for transport. A total of 6,000 people were evacuated.{{Cite web|title=Tropical Storm Saudel lashes Philippines, heads for Vietnam|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/21/after-philippines-tropical-storm-saudel-heads-for-vietnam|access-date=October 22, 2020|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126131345/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/21/after-philippines-tropical-storm-saudel-heads-for-vietnam|url-status=live}} 335 people were displaced in Aurora Province. Rain from Saudel caused water levels to rise in Binga Dam in Benguet Province, prompting authorities to release water from the facility.{{Cite web|url=http://floodlist.com/asia/philippines-tropical-storm-saudel-october-2020|title=Philippines – Tropical Storm "Saudel" Prompts Evacuations – FloodList|access-date=October 28, 2020|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203080805/http://floodlist.com/asia/philippines-tropical-storm-saudel-october-2020|url-status=live}} In Quezon, numerous homes and schools were also damaged. Heavy rains caused a concrete wall to collapse at the Siain Elementary School in Buenavista, Quezon. In addition, Sumulong Elementary School in Calauag was again flooded, several days after Tropical Depression Ofel flooded the school. Rice fields were damaged from floods, and many farmers lost their crops.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rappler.com/moveph/photos-tropical-storm-pepito-flood-several-parts-luzon|title=IN PHOTOS: Tropical Storm Pepito floods parts of Luzon|access-date=October 28, 2020|archive-date=October 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028130636/https://www.rappler.com/moveph/photos-tropical-storm-pepito-flood-several-parts-luzon|url-status=live}} Many bridges in the Cagayan Valley became impassable after Saudel hit.{{cite web |url=https://www.ptvnews.ph/pepito-leaves-bridges-impassable-in-cagayan/ |title=Pepito leaves bridges impassable in Cagayan |date=October 21, 2020 |website=www.ptvnews.ph |access-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101034927/https://ptvnews.ph/pepito-leaves-bridges-impassable-in-cagayan/ |url-status=live }}

Immediately after the storm, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices conducted damage assessments. 13 towns, 36 barangays, and 457 families with a total of 1,576 individuals were affected by the storm. At least 25 evacuation centers were open, with 295 families or 935 individuals. As of October 24, the NDRRMC has calculated a total damage of about ₱106 million (US$2.18 million).{{cite web |title=SitRep no. 05 re Preparedness Measures and Effects for TY PEPITO |url=http://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/4129/Update_on_SitRep_No5_re_Preparednes_Measures_and_Effects_of_TY_PEPITO_as_of_24Oct2020_8AM.pdf |date=October 24, 2020 |publisher=NDRRMC |access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027003133/http://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/4129/Update_on_SitRep_No5_re_Preparednes_Measures_and_Effects_of_TY_PEPITO_as_of_24Oct2020_8AM.pdf |url-status=live }}

=China=

Saudel was the seventeenth storm to hit China or its territories in 2020. The storm brought strong winds on the Qiongzhou Strait, forcing ships to stop service at 05:00 UTC on October 23. All passenger trains to and from Hainan stopped running due to the storm.{{Cite web|url=https://www.beijingnews.net/news/266768511/typhoon-saudel-lashes-south-china|title=Typhoon Saudel lashes south China|access-date=October 29, 2020|archive-date=December 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226063000/https://www.beijingnews.net/news/266768511/typhoon-saudel-lashes-south-china|url-status=live}} The CMA issued a yellow alert, the third-highest level of alerts on its system, for Hainan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.taipeinews.net/news/266785678/china-re-yellow-alert-for-typhoon-saudel|title=China renews yellow alert for Typhoon Saudel|access-date=October 29, 2020|archive-date=December 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226063031/https://www.taipeinews.net/news/266785678/china-re-yellow-alert-for-typhoon-saudel|url-status=live}} A peak wind gust of 130 km/h (80 mph) was recorded.{{cite web |url=https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/tropical-storm-saudel-threatens-to-unleash-more-rain-across-flood-weary-vietnam/835156 |title=Tropical Storm Saudel threatens to unleash more rain across flood-weary Vietnam |first=Adam |last=Douty |date=October 22, 2020 |website=www.accuweather.com |access-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029172743/https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/tropical-storm-saudel-threatens-to-unleash-more-rain-across-flood-weary-vietnam/835156 |url-status=live }} The direct economic loss reached ¥60 million (US$9 million).{{cite web|url=https://www.mem.gov.cn/xw/bndt/202011/t20201103_371295.shtml|title=应急管理部发布2020年10月全国自然灾害情况|work=Ministry of Emergency Management|date=November 3, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513163203/https://www.mem.gov.cn/xw/bndt/202011/t20201103_371295.shtml|archive-date=May 13, 2021|url-status=live|language=Chinese}} The storm, along with the seasonal monsoon, also brought strong winds to Hong Kong.{{cite web|url=https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/wr/202010/22/P2020102200646.htm|title=天氣稿第113號－發出/取消熱帶氣旋警告信號|author=香港天文台|date=October 22, 2020|access-date=October 22, 2020|language=zh-hk|archive-date=October 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026234933/https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/wr/202010/22/P2020102200646.htm|url-status=live}}

=Elsewhere=

Vietnam was already dealing with severe flooding from tropical systems Linfa, Nangka, and Ofel when Typhoon Saudel affected the region.

The storm also caused strong winds and rough seas over waters off the Malaysian state of Sabah, where the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) had issued a tropical storm advisory, with the storm being around 1,315 kilometers northwest of Kudat.{{cite web|url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2020/10/24/metmalaysia-issues-advisory-on-saudel-tropical-storm/|title=MetMalaysia issues advisory on Saudel tropical storm|last=Kong|first=Joash|publisher=The Borneo Post|date=October 24, 2020|access-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029011635/https://www.theborneopost.com/2020/10/24/metmalaysia-issues-advisory-on-saudel-tropical-storm/|archive-date=October 29, 2020|url-status=live}}

References

External links

Category:Tropical cyclones in 2020

Category:2020 Pacific typhoon season

Category:Typhoons in the Philippines