Haishen becomes 2020's first super typhoon, Japan braces for impact
Super Typhoon Haishen could bring devastating damage from strong winds and high tides, regardless of whether it makes landfall.
Haishen has intensified and became 2020’s first super typhoon as it tracks towards Japan and South Korea.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) defines a super typhoon as one that reaches maximum sustained one-minute surface winds of at least 150 mph (241.4 km/h), which is equivalent to a Category 4 or 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale in the Atlantic basin.
In its latest statement, JTWC says Haishen’s maximum sustained wind gusts are 250 km/h, with gusts reaching as high as 306 km/h -- equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. It is forecast to strengthen Friday night and obtain wind speeds that are equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.
Haishen could hit Japan this Sunday as the equivalent of a Category 3 storm before tracking into South Korea as a Category 2 storm by Monday morning. There is increasing uncertainty in the exact track over South Korea, though one particular model indicates the storm will move further west than others have shown.
Sayaka Mori, a meteorologist for NHK World, says that Haishen would break the record for the most landfalling storms in a single season if it strikes South Korea, as reported by The Washington Post.
Record levels of rainfall, severe flooding and mudslides are potential impacts from this storm. Officials warn that Haishen will cause significant damage even if the storm does not make landfall.
Several regions in South Korea and Japan are recovering from Typhoon Maysak after it made landfall in South Korea on Thursday. Intense wind gusts and heavy rains resulted in at least two fatalities in the city of Busan.
