Typhoon Bilis (2000)

The predecessor to Typhoon Bilis began as a developing area of disturbed weather well south-southeast of Guam on August 15. Satellite analysis revealed a broad low-pressure area associated with the developing convection. Within an area supportive of tropical cyclogenesis, the disturbance gradually organized and intensified. At 0600 UTC on August 17, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began classifying the system as a tropical depression. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) followed suit the following day at 1200 UTC. Tracking northwestward, the favorable conditions allowed the depression to quickly strengthen and attain tightly wrapped rainbands, This period of rapid strengthening continued throughout the day's course, with the system reaching severe tropical storm intensity twelve hours after naming and then typhoon intensity at 1200 UTC on August 20. Despite the short stint over land, Bilis had greatly weakened, and was only a minimal typhoon upon its reentry over water. However, there was a large discrepancy between JMA and JTWC intensity estimates, with the latter suggesting that Bilis had only weakened slightly. Nonetheless, the typhoon made its final landfall Jinjiang, Fujian at 0300 UTC on August 24. This greatly weakened Bilis, and three hours later the JMA downgraded it as a tropical storm. Shortly after landfall, the weakening tropical cyclone became quasi-stationary just inland of Mainland China. By this point convection was intermittent and short-lived, and at 1200 UTC the JMA classified the system as a tropical depression. Though the JTWC discontinued its monitoring activities, the depression began to assume a northerly course on August 24. At 1200 UTC the next day, the depression was determined to have diffused into a remnant low while still inland. Bilis' remnants continued to track northeast, across the Yellow Sea, and dissipated on August 27 shortly after entering the Korean Peninsula. ==Preparations and impact==

Taiwan In preparation for Bilis, offices were closed across the island. In addition to the closure of businesses, flights to and from the island were rescheduled, and a typhoon relief center was established. Though the storm had not yet made landfall, one person was killed in Taipei on August 22 after they were buried by a landslide triggered by the impending typhoon; this accounted for the first fatality caused by Bilis. Along with flight rescheduling, numerous airports were closed, and the Taiwan Stock Exchange was set to close on August 23. Meanwhile, hospitals extended service times in anticipation for patient admittance. Taiwanese coast guard members regulated fishing activity due to the threat of deadly wave action. The Port of Kaohsiung was closed throughout the duration of the storm. Due to the heightened demand for vegetables in the lead-up to the storm, the cost of such foods increased by 20 to 30 percent. Bilis was a highly destructive tropical cyclone for Taiwan. Damage to the island's agricultural, fishing, and forestry industries amounted to US$133.5 million. The typhoon caused 14 fatalities and injured an additional 80 people. Power outages adversely impacted approximately 600,000 households, and 400 homes across Taiwan were destroyed. In Cheng-Kung, a weather station recorded a wind gust, which broke the station's anemometer. In eastern Hualien County, 250 houses succumbed to strong winds. Heavy rainfall associated with Bilis flooded roughly 40,000 ha (100,000 ac) of orchards and rice paddies. Following Bilis' passage of Taiwan, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the island, exacerbating the already worsened conditions. The typhoon was anticipated to be the worst storm to affect Xiamen so far in 2000. As was the case in Taiwan, all three airports in the province were closed, and ferry service was suspended in preparation for the storm. Likewise, Xiamen Airlines cancelled all scheduled flights. After becoming a tropical cyclone, Bilis' outer rainbands dropped heavy rainfall on Okinawa Prefecture in the Ryukyu Islands. Total rainfall amounts peaked at in Iriomote-jima. Two other stations recorded rainfall totals in excess of . The typhoon also produced some gusty winds across the islands, with sustained winds peaking at on Yonaguni. While a weakening remnant system, Bilis caused torrential precipitation across South Korea. At Kunsan Air Base, of rain was recorded over a 48-hour period; this two-day total was over three times the August average for the location. ==See also==