Typhoon Parma

Typhoon Parma (Pepeng)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 4 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Parma at peak intensity on October 1
Formed	September 27, 2009
Dissipated	October 14, 2009
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 185 km/h (115 mph) 1-minute sustained: 250 km/h (155 mph)
Lowest pressure	930 hPa (mbar); 27.46 inHg
Fatalities	500 total
Damage	$617 million (2009 USD)
Areas affected	Caroline Islands, Philippines, Taiwan, China and Vietnam
Part of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Parma, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pepeng, was the second typhoon to affect the Philippines within the span of a week during September 2009.

Typhoon Parma was assigned the name Pepeng by PAGASA when it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility days after Typhoon Ketsana wreaked havoc on the country. Parma spared the capital and instead lashed the northern part of Luzon island.

Parma added to the damage caused by the earlier Typhoon Ketsana, affecting thousands of families on the north, especially on Pangasinan province where the San Roque Dam inadvertently released water to prevent its breach. However, in the first week of October, Parma interacted with the incoming Typhoon Melor on the Pacific (via a Fujiwhara interaction), rendering it stationary as it made landfall on Southern Taiwan. Days later, the greatly weakened Parma retreated back to Luzon making further landfalls on Ilocos Norte and Cagayan. The now severe tropical storm Parma then began to wane its strength as it crossed Luzon island for the second time. It then emerged on the South China Sea as a tropical depression. Parma became one of the deadliest typhoons to hit the Philippines in a decade.

During September 26, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) started to monitor an area of convection that was located about 445 km (275 mi), to the southeast of Guam. The system had an elongated low-level circulation center with convection developing around the center. Upper level analysis showed that the system was located in an area of low vertical wind shear and had a good poleward outflow into a tropical upper tropospheric trough. During the next day, convection started to consolidate before both the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the JTWC initiated advisories on the system, with the JTWC designating it as Tropical Depression 19W. After being classified, the depression remained weak and poorly organized, as it lay close to Tropical Storm 18W. During September 28, as the depression moved away from 18W, the JTWC reported that the depression had intensified into a tropical storm despite it remaining poorly organized, and acquired the name Parma.

Parma started to intensify to a typhoon as it moved closer to the Philippines. On October 1, Parma reached its peak intensity with winds of 250 km/h (155 mph). Afterwards, Parma started a weakening trend as it moved closer to the Philippines and then made landfall in the country. During its landfall in the Philippines, Parma began to travel northwest towards China. It suddenly slowed down (due to interactions with Typhoon Melor) rendering it stationary. Surprisingly, it began to retreat back to mainland Philippines making a second landfall and weakening to a tropical depression and emerged on the South China Sea. After regaining some strength, it began to travel westward towards Vietnam, dissipating over the country on October 14.