Typhoon Krathon

Typhoon Krathon, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Julian, was a powerful and erratic typhoon which impacted Taiwan and the Philippines in late-September and early-October 2024. Krathon was the first storm to make landfall on Taiwan's densely populated western plains since Typhoon Thelma in 1977. It was also the first storm to hit Kaohsiung in October and the first since Tropical Storm Trami in 2001 to weaken into a tropical depression over Taiwan. Additionally, it was also the strongest typhoon to hit Batanes since Typhoon Chanthu in 2021. The twenty-sixth tropical depression, eighteenth named storm, second violent typhoon, and second super typhoon of the season, Krathon developed into a tropical depression near Kadena Air Base, Japan, on September 26. It became a tropical storm on September 28 and reached typhoon strength on September 29 after developing a broad, ragged eye. Krathon moved north-northwestward before shifting west-northwestward and passing near Sabtang, Batanes. On October 1, it reached peak intensity with ten-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a central pressure of 920 hPa (27.17 inHg), making it a Category 4-equivalent super typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson scale. After entering the northern South China Sea, an eyewall replacement cycle weakened the storm. Krathon made landfall near Siaogang District in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on October 3, then rapidly weakened while moving through central Taiwan, near the western edge of the Central Mountain Range. The JMA monitored the system over the South China Sea before it dissipated later that day. Ahead of the storm, a Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal was issued for various areas in the Philippines, with a red alert for Calayan and Santa Ana in Cagayan. Krathon resulted in at least five deaths, three people missing, and eight injured in the Philippines. Additionally, it was the wettest tropical cyclone in Basco,...