Typhoon Ketsana
| Typhoon (JMA scale) | |
|---|---|
| Category 2 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Typhoon Ketsana off the coast of Vietnam on September 28, 2009
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| Formed | September 24, 2009 |
| Dissipated | September 30, 2009 |
| Highest winds |
10-minute sustained: 130 km/h (80 mph) 1-minute sustained: 165 km/h (105 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 960 hPa (mbar); 28.35 inHg |
| Fatalities | 710 direct, 37 missing |
| Damage | $1.09 billion (2009 USD) |
| Areas affected | Philippines, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand |
| Part of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Ketsana, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Ondoy, was the second most devastating tropical cyclone in the 2009 Pacific typhoon season with a damage of $1.09 billion and 747 fatalities, only behind Morakot earlier in the season, which caused 789 deaths and damages worth $6.2 billion. The storm was the sixteenth tropical storm, eighth typhoon and the second major typhoon in the season. It was the most devastating typhoon to hit Manila, surpassing Typhoon Patsy (Yoling) in 1970.
Ketsana formed early about 860 km (535 mi) to the northwest of Palau on September 23, 2009. The depression remained weak and was downgraded to a low pressure area later that day by the Japan Meteorological Agency and after drifting through extremely favorable conditions, it intensified the next day and was categorized as Tropical Depression by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and was given the name Ondoy after entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the depression. It was then upgraded to a tropical depression by the JMA later that morning before the JTWC followed suit early on September 25, designating the depression as 17W. Soon, Ketsana was upgraded to a Tropical Storm before passing over the Philippines. As it moved into the South China Sea the storm intensified while moving toward the west, and was categorized as a Severe Tropical Storm by the JMA.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo declared a "state of calamity" encompassing most of Luzon after at least 86 people were initially reported dead in landslides and other incidents. Flood water levels reached a record 20 feet (6.1 m) in rural areas. As of October 24, 2009, at least 464 deaths in the Philippines were officially reported from the typhoon.
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