Four storms are churning simultaneously in the North Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, the first time on record that so many have occurred at the same time in the month of November, weather experts say.
The storms — Yinxing, Toraji, Usagi and Man-yi — are either fast approaching the Philippines or have already passed over the islands and surrounding areas over the past week.
While typhoons form in the region every month, even in the colder seasons, never before have four storms been seen at once in November, said Gene Huang, a forecaster from Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. Peak typhoon season in the Philippines lasts from July through October, and the nation sees an average of 20 tropical storms each year, according to its weather agency.
Since weather agencies began tracking tropical cyclones in 1961, the most recorded at the same time in the western North Pacific and South China Sea in November is three. That happened most recently in 2009, according to Olivia Shuk-ming Lee, a senior scientific officer at Hong Kong Observatory, a government forecaster.
Even in the summer, “four at once is abnormal,” said Mr. Huang, who added that overall weather conditions this year have deviated from the norm.
Areas of high pressure that trigger tropical storms are farther north and lasting longer than usual for this time of year, scientists say.
While weather experts have yet to conclude that global warming is a direct cause of the increased storm activity this month, they say it could be a factor. Sea surface temperatures have been steadily rising and reached a record high last year.
The Philippines has already sustained widespread damage and reported more than a hundred deaths caused by storms this season.
Typhoon Yinxing hit the Philippines as a Category 4 storm last week, forcing more than 160,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Typhoon Toraji made landfall on Monday and disrupted power service for tens of thousands of people, according to the nation’s energy department.
On Wednesday, Toraji was on its way to Hong Kong, where kindergarten classes had been canceled, according its education bureau.
Usagi was expected to make landfall on Thursday on the northeastern coast of Luzon, the most populated island in the Philippines, according to the country’s office of civil defense. Man-yi is forecast to make landfall in the eastern Philippines over the weekend, according to the nation’s weather agency.
On Monday evening, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said that the government was prepared to provide aid to areas hit by the storms. Rescuers are “already there and they’re just waiting for the storm,” he said.
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