Tropical Storm Nock-ten 2011

Severe Tropical Storm Nock-ten (international designation: 1108, JTWC designation: 10W, PAGASA Name: Juaning) was a powerful tropical storm that affected northern Philippines. It was the eighth named storm and the fourth severe tropical storm of the 2011 Pacific typhoon season. Nock-ten, named after a Laotian bird, made a total of 3 landfalls in Southeast Asia wreaking havoc, killing more than 55 people and causing damage worth US$ 99 million.

PAGASA, Nock-ten was well forecasted and residents of affected areas were well informed about the storm. Manila, the capital, which was in the direct path of the storm, prepared for heavy rains and shut down all schools across the city.

Meteorological history

Early on 22 July 2011, an area of low pressure formed to the east of Philippines. The system gradually drifted west over the next few days and late on 24 July, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center Started Monitoring the system as a Tropical Depression. Early the next day, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) upgraded the area of low pressure into a Tropical Depression. A few hours later, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) started monitoring the system as a Tropical Depression and named it 'Juaning'. The system continued to drift westwards and strengthened rapidly. On midnight that day, the JMA further upgraded the system into a Tropical Storm, naming it Nock-Ten. Early on 27 July, the JMA reported that Nock-ten continued to strengthen and upgraded it to a Severe Tropical Storm. A few hours later, the JTWC reported that Nock-ten rapidly intensified to a category 1 typhoon and made its landfall over northern Aurora (province) and started weakening. Later the same day, the JMA reported that Nock-ten has exited the Luzon island at Candon maintaining severe tropical storm strength. However, overnight, the storm rapidly weakened and the JMA downgraded it into a minor tropical storm the next day.On 29 July, the storm gradually regained strength and approached south China coast at Qionghai, China. Later that day, the storm strengthened over land and headed north towards Hainan's provincial capital region Haikou. The storm weakened rapidly and at midnight that day, the JMA, issuing their final warning on the system, downgrading it into a tropical low.

Preparations and impact

Region Fatalities Missing Damage (US$)

Philippines 66 17 41 million

China 2 0 58 million

Vietnam 3 0 Minimal

Thailand 1 2 Minimal

Total 72 19 99 million+

Philippines

The provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur were reported to be completely flooded by rain. Minor damage to rice crops was reported. Heavier rains were expected throughout the day as the system exited land into the South China Sea and reintensified. The number of missing was raised to 31 after 25 crewmembers of a fishing boat were reported missing when their boat was caught in the storm off Masbate. All classes in Luzon from Pre-school to college levels on 26 and 27 July were suspended. In Northern Luzon, Nock-ten's heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding in the area. The national roads were impassable and landslides were reported. About 26 domestic flights were cancelled from 26 to 27 July due to heavy rains and strong winds. The death toll is now upgraded to 27 and more than 60 people are now listed as missing. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council began rescuing stranded people and searching for fishermen who were lost in the storm. On 28 July, the death toll was put at 35 as two government mines bureau staffers and the two police officers with them were recovered from flood waters and landslides in Luzon. By that time, the storm displaced a total of 728,554 people from several Philippine provinces in Luzon within the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon and Bicol Region. Later that day, the government accused the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) for issuing inaccurate weather forecasts about the tropical storm. On 29 July, the Philippine death toll was put up to 41 as more bodies were recovered from the flooded areas in Luzon. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) announced the total damage caused by the storm to Philippines was US$26,896,788.. Among the dead was the mother of Joey Salceda, the governor of Albay province. She died on Wednesday of head trauma after slipping on the stairs during a power outage caused by the tropical storm. On 30 July, the death toll was again increased to 50. The NDRRMC also upgraded the total damage to infrastructure and agriculture to US$34,809,609.08. Most of the dead were drowned, hit by fallen tree or electric posts, or were buried in landslides. The majority of those affected are from the worst hit Bicol region. Many communities in the Bicol region were in need of potable water, electricity and work crews to clear all the debris and mangled up roads. on August 2, the NDRRMC, again increased the philippine death toll to 66 and the total damage to infrastructure and agriculture to US$41,811,413.49.

China

On 28 July, the residents of western Guangdong started preparing for the storm when China's flood control authority launched an emergency response. The storm was originally expected to brush the South China coast by 29 July, However it gradually slowed down. As the system neared the Chinese coasts, China's meteorological authority issued a yellow alert and was predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in parts of the Sichuan Basin. The provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan were also strictly alerted about the storm. On 29 July, some 36,000 sea vessels carrying more than 120,000 labourers on board were warned about the severe storm over the south china sea. With that, some 26,000 fishing boats China's Hainan Province have returned to port. As the storm approached coast, later that day, 14 flights from Hainan's provincial capital Haikou were cancelled. The rail ferry service to Mainland China was also suspended because of the storm's fury. The storm was originally expected to turn west after landfall over Hainan. However, the storm headed north and hit Hainan's provincial capital Haikou. As a result, some 27,700 people were evacuated from Hainan's low lying area and some 2,602 fishing ships have returned to ports. Heavy rain and strong winds have halted all shipping services across the Qiongzhou Strait. Later the next day, China's flood control authorities have reported to have evacuated a total of 189,033 to safe areas in the southern island province of Hainan. On 31 July, the China's provincial flood control office reported that, in total, Nock-ten claimed 2 lives and caused widespread damage worth US$58 million in Hainan province.

Vietnam, Laos and Thailand

As the storm neared land, a Vietnamese boat carrying 12 fishermen was capsized and drifted towards Palawan, near the Philippines. A few hours later, all the 12 fishermen were rescued and safeguarded. The Thai Meteorological Department issued warnings for Phuket and much of Thailand as the storm neared land. Strong winds and heavy rain were predicted to affect the Andaman Sea. As a result, the people of Thailand’s northern provinces started preparing for possible floods and strong wind. The Yom River and the Nan River were reported to be almost overflowing damaging some rice paddy fields and farmland.About 650,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas in the Tonkin Gulf region in preparation for the storm. On 30 July, just before the storms's final landfall, the storm already started claiming lives in Vietnam, with one man killed by the oceanic waves. As a result, Meteorological officials repeated their warning that small boats should not put to sea. Later that day, some 6 flights of Vietnam Airlines were cancelled and many more were delayed because of the storm. Over the next day, after the storms final landfall, some 6,200 acres of rice and other crop fields were reported to be completely submerged by the rain waters. The storm's consequences were described as "not considerable" as the storm was weaker than expected and did not cause much damage. On 31 July, the Vietnamese death toll was upgraded to three, as another man was killed by electric shock when lightning stroke the electric pole and a 13 year old child died drowning. The storm damaged at least four fishing vessels, sinking one from Quang Ngai Province near Spratly Islands. The north and northeastern provinces of Thailand were reported to be completely flooded and some townships were said to be under a staggering 80 centimetres of water. As a result, two people were reported to have gone missing in the flood waters.Flooding occurred in many northern and central provinces. Heavy rainfall inundated low lying areas of the Khammuan and Borikhamxay. 25 villages and 15 schools remained underwater, even two days after the storm.