Typhoon Doksuri

Pacific typhoon in 2023

  • China
  • Palau
  • Philippines
  • Taiwan
  • Vietnam
Typhoon Doksuri (Egay)
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Part of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Doksuri, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Egay, was a powerful and highly destructive tropical cyclone which became the costliest typhoon to hit China, and the costliest typhoon on record, breaking the previous record of Typhoon Mireille in 1991. Doksuri was also the strongest typhoon to impact Fujian since Typhoon Meranti in 2016, and the most powerful typhoon to strike the province since records began in 1950. Aside from China, Doksuri also caused extensive damage in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam, in late July 2023. The name Doksuri means eagle in Korean.

The fifth named storm and third typhoon of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season, Doksuri started as a low-pressure area in the Philippines, far off the eastern coast of Mindanao. Tracking northwestward, it rapidly intensified into a typhoon over the Philippines prior to making landfall over the Babuyan Islands. Together with the southwest monsoon, Doksuri showered most of the northern and central Luzon island with heavy rains, triggering floods in various regions of the country. Doksuri steadily weakened after interacting with land, but by late July 27, Doksuri underwent another round of rapid intensification in the South China Sea. Doksuri moved towards Fujian, China, before rapidly weakening overland, and Doksuri dissipated early on the next day.

Doksuri left behind a trail of severe destruction in its wake. The typhoon killed 137 and left 285 people injured, 27 of those deaths were on board the MB Aya Express who were killed when the pump boat capsized. Floods were reported in 9 out of the Philippines' 17 regions, affecting over 2 million people and requiring over 300,000 to evacuate. The typhoon's close proximity and large influence to Taiwan caused around 150,000 people to lose power. The storm affected over 724,600 people and 262.3 ha (648 acres) of farmland in China's southeastern province of Fujian; 44 houses were damaged, with 178 houses completely destroyed.

In Fujian, the rainfall set records for 24-hour totals, including an accumulation of more than 648 mm (25.5 in). Torrential rains impacted many areas, with accumulations in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Putian reaching 50 mm (2.0 in). The remnants of the storm produced heavy rainfall in Beijing. The remnants dropped up to 744.8 mm (29.32 in) of rainfall in Wangjiayuan Reservoir in Changping District with Doksuri setting maximum rainfall records since recordkeeping began during the Qing dynasty in 1883.[1][2] Overall, Doksuri caused US$28.4 billion worth of damages across the four countries affected by the typhoon.

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