Tropical Storm Linfa was a weak, short-lived but deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that was the twelfth wettest tropical cyclone on record and the second of nine tropical cyclones in a row to strike Vietnam in 2020, a little under a month after the less damaging Tropical Storm Noul. The fifteenth named storm of the 2020 Pacific typhoon season, Linfa originated from a tropical depression which formed just to the west of the Philippines on October 6. After passing through the island nation, the storm emerged into the South China Sea and slowly gained strength, earning the name Linfa on October 10 on approach to Vietnam. On the next day, Linfa had reached peak strength and made landfall in Vietnam, marking the beginning of a devastating series of floods in the country and worsening the already active monsoon season. Linfa quickly dissipated as it moved inland, but associated thunderstorms continued for several days.
Linfa brought record breaking rainfall totals throughout much of the Indochinese Peninsula. 112 people were left dead in Vietnam, with 24 missing. An additional 25 people died in Cambodia and there was 1 killed in Laos with 3 missing. Damage totals throughout Vietnam reached up to US$217 million, or 4.9 trillion đồng. Linfa was also the second-deadliest storm of 2020, closely behind Hurricane Eta and the deadliest of the annual typhoon season.
According to post-analytic data by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Linfa developed as a weak tropical depression just to the east of Bicol Region, Philippines on 18:00 UTC of October 6.[2] After crossing the Philippine archipelago of Luzon and entering the waters of the South China Sea, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert on October 9.[3] Shortly thereafter, the JMA began operationally tracking the system around 12:00 UTC that day.[4] Twelve hours later, the JMA started initiating advisories on the developing system.[5] After animated satellite imagery depicted a defined low-level circulation center (LLCC) along with flaring deep convection,[6] the JTWC followed suit on classifying the system as a tropical depression and began issuing advisories, giving the identifier of 17W.[7] Being located in warm sea-surface temperatures and low wind shear, the system's overall structure quickly improved.[8] Due to this, the JTWC upgraded 17W to a tropical storm on 15:00 UTC of October 10.[9] Three hours later, the JMA also upgraded the system to a tropical storm, receiving the name Linfa – the fifteenth named storm of the annual typhoon season.[2]
Linfa slowly consolidated throughout the rest of the day. Microwave imagery depicted continued wrapping of deep convection to its LLCC, which prompted the JTWC to increase Linfa's 1-minute sustained winds to 75 km/h (45 mph).[10] By 00:00 UTC of October 11, Linfa reached its peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 85 km/h (55 mph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 994 hPa (29.35 inHg). However, this peak intensity only lasted for 6 hours.[2] Linfa shortly later made landfall to the south of Da Nang, Vietnam near peak strength. As the storm moved over land, its circulation rapidly deteriorated and became partially exposed; the JTWC issued their final advisory on Linfa on 06:00 UTC of October 11.[11] The JMA analyzed that Linfa weakened back to a tropical depression six hours later,[2] however originally they did not issue their final advisory until 18:00 UTC of the same day.[12] The JMA tracked Linfa until it fully dissipated on 12:00 UTC of October 12.[2]
Preparations and impact
Philippines
In the Philippines, the precursor to Linfa brought moderate to heavy rain to parts of Luzon and Visayas, with the PAGASA warning of possible flash floods and landslides in the areas affected.[13]
Vietnam
In preparation for Linfa, Central Vietnamese airports' operation was suspended for much of October 11.[14] Schools were also shut down in Da Nang due to inclement weather approaching from the storm.[15] The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned of strong tropical-storm force winds extending up to 100 km (62 mi) away from the storm's center.[16]
Before Linfa, from October 5 to 8 the areas of central Vietnam had already suffered from very heavy rainfall and flash floods due to the monsoon. Shortly after Linfa had moved inland, the storm brought historic amounts of precipitation to Central Vietnam, the peak rainfall total having been 90.16 inches (2,290 mm) in A Lưới (Huế).[17] Several tornadoes were also reported, one which carved through Thăng Bình District, leaving 20 houses unroofed and 2 people missing.[18] 1,009 houses were completely destroyed by Linfa and 121,694 homes in total were damaged by floods.[19] In addition, the floods caused from Linfa damaged 165.5 km of national highways and 140.1 km of provincial highways. The storm destroyed 6,989 hectares (17,270 acres) of rice crops and vegetable crops, and 2,141 hectares (5,290 acres) of aquaculture, whilst killing about 685,225 livestock.[20] On the night of 12 to 13 October, when leading the rescue team of workers at a hydropower plant (Thua Thien Hue) to find missing workers buried in a landslide, Major General Nguyễn Văn Man was buried in yet another landslide with 12 people from the rescue team.[21] On October 15, their bodies were found by rescuers.[22] The entirety of Ly Son Island, an island with a population of over 22,000 people, was left without power.[23] 2 boats near the island were also destroyed, but the men inside were also rescued by two naval ships.[23] The storm left, in total, 112 people dead and 24 missing in Vietnam.[24][25]
Other regions
In Cambodia, heavy floods due to Linfa killed 25 people. The floods were also said to have inundated 73,720 houses and 293,177 hectares of rice and other crops.[26] In combination with Tropical Storm Nangka which hit just days later, 312,224 people were affected.[27]
Prior to the storm, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology warned of river floods and advised to open irrigation gates as rainfall was expected to quickly intensify due to Linfa in Laos.[28] There was one confirmed death and 3 people missing.[29] 7,798 people were displaced.[29]
Aftermath
Quang Tri authorities asked the central government for relief equipment, including two amphibious vehicles, 27 boats, and chemicals for disinfection.[20] The US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink announced US$100,000 in relief funds to support recovery in Vietnam.[30]USAID promised to give long-term assistance to disaster relief for the rest of the typhoon season immediately following Linfa.[31]
Retirement
In the spring of 2022, the Typhoon Committee announced that the name Linfa, alongside 4 other storm names, would be removed from the naming list. The Committee chose Peilou as the replacement for Linfa.[32][33][34]
^ abcde"RSMC Tropical Cyclone Best Track 2015 LINFA (2015)". Japan Meteorological Agency. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
^"Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (INVEST 92W) WTPN21 PGTW 091100". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 9, 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020.
^"WTPN21 PGTW 091100". Japan Meteorological Agency. October 9, 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020.
^"RSMC Tropical Cyclone Advisory TD". Japan Meteorological Agency. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020.
^"Prognostic Reasoning for Tropical Depression 17W (Seventeen) Warning Nr 001". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020.
^"Tropical Depression 17W (Seventeen) Warning Nr 001". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020.
^"Prognostic Reasoning for Tropical Storm 17W (Seventeen) Warning Nr 003". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020.
^"Tropical Storm 17W (Seventeen) Warning Nr 003". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020.
^"Prognostic Reasoning for Tropical Storm 17W (Linfa) Warning Nr 004". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020.
^"Tropical Storm 17W (Linfa) Warning Nr 006". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. October 11, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020.
^"RSMC Tropical Cyclone Advisory TD DOWNGRADED FROM TS 2015 LINFA (2015)". Japan Meteorological Agency. October 11, 2020. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020.
^"Much of Luzon, Visayas rainy due to LPA, southwest monsoon". Rappler. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
^"Central Vietnamese airports suspended from operations due to Storm Linfa". Tuoi Tre News. 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^dantri.com.vn (11 October 2020). "Ảnh hưởng bão số 6, học sinh Đà Nẵng tiếp tục nghỉ học". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^dantri.com.vn (11 October 2020). "Bão số 6 đi vào đất liền Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi và suy yếu thành áp thấp". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^"FLASH REPORT ON DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT SITUATION ON 14 OCTOBER 2020". Vietnam Disaster Management Authority. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
^VnExpress. "Lốc xoáy tốc mái gần 50 ngôi nhà". vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^baotintuc.vn (2020-11-16). "Đề xuất xóa bỏ tên bão Linfa vì gây thiệt hại nặng nề ở miền Trung". baotintuc.vn (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^ ab"Thailand, Vietnam caught in the line of fire from increased storm activity". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
^"Tìm thấy thi thể Thiếu tướng Nguyễn Văn Man, Phó Tư lệnh Quân khu 4". Báo điện tử Tiền Phong. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
^Hoàng Thùy và cộng sự (2020-10-13). "Phó tư lệnh Quân khu 4 cùng 12 người gặp nạn khi đi cứu hộ". Báo điện tử VnExpress. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
^ abVnExpress. "Lý Sơn gió cấp 8, mất điện". vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-03-29.
^"Báo cáo nhanh công tác trực ban PCTT ngày 19/10/2020". Vietnam Disaster Management Authority (in Vietnamese). 20 October 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
^"Tổng số người chết và mất tích do mưa lũ là 134: Công tác cứu trợ đang được đẩy mạnh". VOV.VN. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
^"Flood death toll in Cambodia rises to 25 as over 37,000 evacuated: spokesman". Xinhua News Agency. October 19, 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
^"Flash Update: No. 04 – Tropical Storm LINFA, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam – 21 Oct 2020 - Viet Nam". ReliefWeb. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^ ab"FLASH UPDATE: No. 03 – Tropical Storms LINFA and NANGKA, CAMBODIA, LAO PDR, VIET NAM – 15 Oct 2020". AHA Centre. 2020-10-14. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^VnExpress. "Mỹ hỗ trợ miền Trung Việt Nam 100.000 USD". vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^"Chính phủ Mỹ chia buồn với Việt Nam về mất mát do lũ lụt ở miền Trung". doisongphapluat.com (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-02-21.
^"53rd Session of TC - Working Doc Page". typhooncommittee.org. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
^"Replacement Names of LINFA, VONGFONG, MOLAVE, GONI and VAMCO in the Tropical Cyclone Name List" (PDF).
^"Tropical Cyclone Naming". public.wmo.int. 2016-05-30. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tropical Storm Linfa (2020).
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Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression
