Typhoon Rai

Pacific typhoon in 2021

  • Caroline Islands
  • Indonesia (Talaud Islands Regency)
  • Philippines (especially Mindanao, Visayas, and Mimaropa in Luzon)
  • Spratly Islands
  • Vietnam
  • Southern China
  • Hong Kong
  • Macau
  • Taiwan
Typhoon Rai (Odette)
IBTrACS

Part of the 2021 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Rai, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Odette,[1] was a deadly and extremely destructive super typhoon, which was the second costliest typhoon in Philippine history behind Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Rai was a powerful rare tropical cyclone that struck the Philippines in December 2021. Rai became the first Category 5-equivalent super typhoon to develop in the month of December since Nock-ten in 2016, and the third Category 5 super typhoon recorded in the South China Sea, following Pamela in 1954 and Rammasun in 2014.

Rai, which named after an artifact called Rai stones, the 22nd and final named tropical storm, the ninth typhoon, and the fifth super typhoon of the 2021 Pacific typhoon season, the system originated from a tropical disturbance near the equator on December 10, forming near the site of another low-pressure area that had dissipated on the previous day. Conditions around the system were favorable for further development, and it slowly developed into a tropical depression on December 12. On the same day, the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) on the consolidating depression. Further intensification ensued, and Rai was upgraded to a tropical storm the next day, before passing south of Ngulu Atoll. After passing near Palau and impacting the island nation, Rai entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by the night of December 14, where the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) named it "Odette". On the next day, both the JMA and JTWC raised the system's intensity to a low-end Category 1-equivalent typhoon, as an eye continued to appear. While approaching the Philippines, Rai rapidly intensified into a Category 5 super typhoon[nb 2] just before its first landfall across Siargao. It then slowly but steadily weakened as it traversed the Visayas, exiting into the Sulu Sea. After making its last landfall over Palawan, Rai continued to weaken before unexpectedly re-intensifying into a Category 5-equivalent typhoon by December 18, while nearing Vietnam. On the next day, Rai entered yet another weakening phase, dissipating on December 21, southeast of Hong Kong.

As Rai pounded the Philippines, heavy rainfall and strong and gusty winds impacted several areas around the storm's path. Many areas across the Visayas and Mindanao lost electricity with several provinces and areas being deprived further of communication services. Downed trees obstructed many roadways, and flooding was a major problem across the affected regions, particularly Bohol, where the storm was described as "one of the worst for the province". Rivers also overflowed across Cagayan de Oro, while numerous buildings sustained damage. Surigao City was reported to be completely damaged, and appealed for aid. Bohol also pleaded for help from the government due to the damages Rai brought to the area. A state of calamity has been placed in the province and Cebu. So far, 410 people have died, a large portion of which were from the severely affected island of Bohol. Damages at the aforementioned location were projected to be worth ₱5 billion ($100 million), with those in Siargao being estimated to be worth ₱20 billion ($401 million) and those in Negros Occidental being estimated to be worth ₱5.9 billion ($118 million).

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression