World’s Strongest Super Typhoon Goni in Philippines

On November 1, 2020, the world strongest Typhoon Goni hit the eastern part of Philippines. This typhoon is considered as the strongest typhoon in the world. It is bringing in catastrophic violent winds and is thus being considered as the hardest landfall on record.

Highlights

The Typhoon Goni has attained its maximum speed of 310 km per hour. More than 347,000 people have been evacuated. The typhoon is expected to damage more than 928,000 hectares of land and 58,431 hectares of corn.

About Goni

Goni formed as a tropical depression and later became a tropical storm Goni. It has now intensified into Category 5 equivalent super typhoon. It is called Typhoon Rollyin in Philippines. This is the second super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean in 2020. Haishen was the first super typhoon to strike the Pacific in 2020.

Types of Typhoons

The typhoons are classified as follows based on their wind speeds

• Violent Typhoon: > 194 km/hr
• Very Strong Typhoon: 157-193 km/hr
• Typhoon: 118-156 km/hr
• Severe Tropical Storm: 89-117 km/hr
• Tropical Storm: 62-88 km/hr
• Tropical Depression: >61 km/hr.

Why is Philippines prone to tropical cyclones?

Philippines is prone to tropical cyclones due to its geographical location. It has following favourable conditions for the cyclones to form

• Cyclones can form only on oceans with sea surface temperature greater than or equal to 26 to 27 degree Celsius.
• The region should have considerably large ocean for enough water to evaporate
• The warm air lifted should remain warmer than the surrounding undisturbed atmosphere at least to a height of 40,000 feet.
• Cyclones are formed beyond 5° This is because for the cyclone to form the Coriolis parameter should be larger than a specific threshold which is obtained only after 5° of latitude. The Coriolis force is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles. Coriolis force is the force acted upon the earth elements due to its rotation. As the earth rotates in its axis, the circulating air gets deflected towards the left in the Southern Hemisphere and to the right in Northern Hemisphere. This defection is called Coriolis effect.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2020