Tropical Storm Saudel threatens to unleash more rain across flood-weary Vietnam
By
Adam Douty, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 21, 2020 11:30 AM EDT
Torrential rain and flooding disrupted life in Hue, Vietnam, on Oct. 15. The rising waters caused at least 36 fatalities and left dozens more missing.
Parts of Vietnam are still reeling from an onslaught of tropical systems in recent weeks that have worsened ongoing flooding in the country. Now, AccuWeather meteorologists say Tropical Storm Saudel may target the country after bringing flooding rainfall and gusty winds to the Philippines.
Saudel first formed as it neared the eastern Philippines on Tuesday.
At 9 p.m., local time on Tuesday, the tropical storm made landfall near the San Ildefonso Peninsula in Casiguran, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
As a tropical storm, Saudel brought widespread rainfall of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) across the northern Philippines on Tuesday, though some areas received as much as 142 mm (nearly 6 inches) in just 24 hours.
A satellite view of Typhoon Saudel as it churned across the South China Sea on Friday evening, local time. (CIRA/RAMMB)
By Thursday morning, Saudel had intensified to a typhoon. However, by Thursday evening Saudel has lost some wind intensity and transitioned back to a severe tropical storm.
As the storm battled dry air and increasing wind shear on its path toward Vietnam, it continued to loss wind intensity into Sunday, once again becoming a tropical storm. This path was also forged by Linfa, Nangka and other disorganized tropical features in recent weeks.
This will bring yet another round of torrential rainfall to parts of central and northern Vietnam into Monday morning.
Impacts also spread into Hainan Island, located in southern China, late Saturday and into Sunday. This island took a direct hit from Tropical Storm Nangka on Oct. 13.
As Saudel passed to the south of Hainan as a severe tropical storm into Sunday morning, it battered the coastline with strong winds and heavy rainfall. Sanya, a city on the south coast of Hainan reported a wind gust of 130 km/h (80 mph).
Saudel is expected to rapidly lose wind intensity while moving into northern Vietnam into Monday morning, though strong wind gusts along the coast can still lead to minor damage.
In Vietnam, near the center of the storm, wind gusts of 65-80 km/h (40-50 mph) are expected with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 113 km/h (70 mph).
Rainfall along Saudel's track into Vietnam is expected to be 100-200 mm (4-8 inches), with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 300 mm (12 inches).
AccuWeather is rating Saudel less than one on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Tropical Cyclones in China and Vietnam. The scale was created by the company in 2019 to offer a more comprehensive outlook for tropical cyclone impacts than the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
In addition to recent rainfall, additional rain from Saudel can lead to the threat for widespread flooding and mudslides in central and northern Vietnam.
Flooded villages are seen in Quang Tri province, Vietnam, Oct. 13, 2020. Ho Cau/VNA via REUTERS.
At least 102 people in total have been killed by the recent flooding and landslides in Vietnam, while more than 90,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes, The Guardian reports.
On Sunday, rescue operations were underway as multiple landslides buried a military barracks in Vietnam's central province of Quang Tri, according to the New York Times. Twenty bodies have been recovered and another two are missing.
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Thousands of hectares of ponds and land used for agriculture have been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of cattle and poultry have been swept away in the floodwaters.
Hue, a city located in the province to the south of Quang Tri, has reported 2,336 mm (90.97 inches) of rainfall since the beginning of October. The city typically reports 757 mm (29.80 inches) of rain for the month of October and 2,798 mm (110.20 inches) for the entire year.
Footage from AFP showed just how high floodwaters had reached in Hue with water entering houses and disrupting other normal everyday activities.
This may not be the last tropical system to impact the region. AccuWeather Meteorologists are monitoring for another tropical depression to form in the Philippine Sea over the weekend. This may bring more rain and wind to the Philippines by Sunday or Monday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Hurricane
Tropical Storm Saudel threatens to unleash more rain across flood-weary Vietnam
By Adam Douty, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 21, 2020 11:30 AM EDT
Torrential rain and flooding disrupted life in Hue, Vietnam, on Oct. 15. The rising waters caused at least 36 fatalities and left dozens more missing.
Parts of Vietnam are still reeling from an onslaught of tropical systems in recent weeks that have worsened ongoing flooding in the country. Now, AccuWeather meteorologists say Tropical Storm Saudel may target the country after bringing flooding rainfall and gusty winds to the Philippines.
Saudel first formed as it neared the eastern Philippines on Tuesday.
At 9 p.m., local time on Tuesday, the tropical storm made landfall near the San Ildefonso Peninsula in Casiguran, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
As a tropical storm, Saudel brought widespread rainfall of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) across the northern Philippines on Tuesday, though some areas received as much as 142 mm (nearly 6 inches) in just 24 hours.
A satellite view of Typhoon Saudel as it churned across the South China Sea on Friday evening, local time. (CIRA/RAMMB)
By Thursday morning, Saudel had intensified to a typhoon. However, by Thursday evening Saudel has lost some wind intensity and transitioned back to a severe tropical storm.
As the storm battled dry air and increasing wind shear on its path toward Vietnam, it continued to loss wind intensity into Sunday, once again becoming a tropical storm. This path was also forged by Linfa, Nangka and other disorganized tropical features in recent weeks.
This will bring yet another round of torrential rainfall to parts of central and northern Vietnam into Monday morning.
Impacts also spread into Hainan Island, located in southern China, late Saturday and into Sunday. This island took a direct hit from Tropical Storm Nangka on Oct. 13.
As Saudel passed to the south of Hainan as a severe tropical storm into Sunday morning, it battered the coastline with strong winds and heavy rainfall. Sanya, a city on the south coast of Hainan reported a wind gust of 130 km/h (80 mph).
Saudel is expected to rapidly lose wind intensity while moving into northern Vietnam into Monday morning, though strong wind gusts along the coast can still lead to minor damage.
In Vietnam, near the center of the storm, wind gusts of 65-80 km/h (40-50 mph) are expected with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 113 km/h (70 mph).
Rainfall along Saudel's track into Vietnam is expected to be 100-200 mm (4-8 inches), with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 300 mm (12 inches).
AccuWeather is rating Saudel less than one on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Tropical Cyclones in China and Vietnam. The scale was created by the company in 2019 to offer a more comprehensive outlook for tropical cyclone impacts than the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
In addition to recent rainfall, additional rain from Saudel can lead to the threat for widespread flooding and mudslides in central and northern Vietnam.
Flooded villages are seen in Quang Tri province, Vietnam, Oct. 13, 2020. Ho Cau/VNA via REUTERS.
At least 102 people in total have been killed by the recent flooding and landslides in Vietnam, while more than 90,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes, The Guardian reports.
On Sunday, rescue operations were underway as multiple landslides buried a military barracks in Vietnam's central province of Quang Tri, according to the New York Times. Twenty bodies have been recovered and another two are missing.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Thousands of hectares of ponds and land used for agriculture have been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of cattle and poultry have been swept away in the floodwaters.
Related:
Hue, a city located in the province to the south of Quang Tri, has reported 2,336 mm (90.97 inches) of rainfall since the beginning of October. The city typically reports 757 mm (29.80 inches) of rain for the month of October and 2,798 mm (110.20 inches) for the entire year.
Footage from AFP showed just how high floodwaters had reached in Hue with water entering houses and disrupting other normal everyday activities.
This may not be the last tropical system to impact the region. AccuWeather Meteorologists are monitoring for another tropical depression to form in the Philippine Sea over the weekend. This may bring more rain and wind to the Philippines by Sunday or Monday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo