#我来唠家常#
▲ Typhoon Thrush was photographed by the imaging spectrometer on board the Earth Observation Satellite at 3:35 UTC on December 27, 2001, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 75 knots. Photo/NASA
-The Legend of the Gentleman of Things-
Typhoon, the fear and love of the Chinese
The first half of 2020 was full of disasters and difficulties. The flood disaster is still going on, and the southeast coast has ushered in an old acquaintance with a violent temper - a typhoon.
This year's typhoon can be described as "late but coming". At the beginning of August, "Haguppi" (whip) and "Mikla" (Thunder Angel) landed on the mainland. Among them, the "Mikla," which had just landed in Zhangpu, Fujian Province, the day before yesterday, was particularly impatient, and it took less than a day to complete the entire process from numbering to landing.
▲ On August 11, 2020, Typhoon "Mikla" hit, and fishing boats and yachts successively entered the Takasaki Typhoon Shelter to avoid the typhoon. Photo by Wang Huoyan
Typhoons have passed, the scenery has withdrawn, the land has been undressed, the fishing grounds have been closed, the ports have closed, the villages have been razed to the ground, and the land has become an ocean.
▲ In August 2019, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province was hit by Typhoon "Lekima", and the city became an ocean. Photo / People's Vision
Coastal residents have long been familiar with typhoons. "If you want to face the ocean, you must bear its wind", through the following figure, we can see how deep the "friendship" between the typhoon and the mainland is:
▲ Since 1945, the landfall time and landfall location of Typhoon No. 1 every year, as well as the cumulative landfall location and landfall intensity. Cartography / Paprika
Where does the typhoon come from, and what is the source of its strength? How do the Chinese in the typhoon live?
Is a typhoon a "wind" or not?
From a meteorological point of view, a typhoon is not just a type of wind, but a tropical cyclone with a geographical label, or a level of wind intensity. This has to start with the "tropical cyclone kindergarten" - the ocean.
Who is in the "kindergarten"?
The Tropical Cyclone Kindergarten has a large territory, covering the ocean surface of tropical and subtropical regions, and is also the "starting line" for cyclones. Under the irradiation of the sun, the water vapor leaves the warm ocean surface, evaporates upward, and then falls in the cold at high altitude, which not only converts the lost heat energy into kinetic energy and brings up the wind, but also forms a low-pressure area by the way. Taking advantage of this opportunity, more water vapor joins the "one up and one down" cycle. With the help of the earth's rotation, this "heat engine" is no longer satisfied with working in place, and begins to fly and spin as it runs...... A fresh tropical cyclone is officially enrolled!
▲ Schematic diagram of typhoon structure. Content Drawing/Liu Zhenyu, Cartography/Paprika
Tropical cyclones from the Northwest Pacific and the Western Pacific and their adjacent seas are classified as "typhoons", those from the eastern Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean are classified as "hurricanes", and those from the Indian and South Pacific oceans are classified as "cyclonics". Sometimes, strict meteorology teachers will also conduct a "placement test" for students in the typhoon class, and only tropical cyclones with an intensity of 12 or higher can be called "typhoons" in the strict sense of the word.
As for the other famous bear child, the tornado, the air vortex generated by the strong convective air in the thunderstorm cloud is completely different from the "birthplace" of tropical cyclones, and the size is also very different.
▲ Schematic diagram of the interior of the tornado. Content Drawing/Wang Yue, Cartography/Paprika
▲ Tornadoes can be watched from the ground, but if you want to see the complete typhoon, you have to stand shoulder to shoulder with Fengyun satellites. Photo/Visual China
Typhoon, is it "wind from Taiwan"?
For Chinese, the English word for typhoon is an easy-to-remember and affectionate word. According to research, this "homophonic meme" is likely to be the crystallization of Chinese, Arabic, East Indian and Greek. In Greek mythology, Typhon was the giant that symbolized the storm, and the name was retained by the Arabs and brought to India, entering the English language in the form of Touffon in the 16th century. Miraculously, in the 17th century, toi fung, commonly considered to be the pronunciation of Cantonese for "gale") also made its way into English in a similar form – Toffoon.
Exchanges between Europe, Asia and Africa have been going on for a long time, and this kind of integration of different paths and common destinations is not impossible.
If we do not take into account the linguistic variation, it is reasonable to interpret "typhoon" directly as "wind from Taiwan". Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, about three-quarters of the super typhoons that have landed on the mainland have made landfall in Taiwan Province, and the number of typhoon landfalls carried by Hualien County ranks first in the country. Some of the typhoons that made landfall in Taiwan for the first time and Fujian for the second time decreased in intensity by an average of 30 percent, and a total of 66 strong typhoons weakened into severe tropical storms when they made landfall in Fujian for the second time. (Fujian: "Thank you to the sisters across the sea.") ”）
▲ In September 2015, Typhoon "Dujuan" hit Taiwan Province, and dark clouds pressed on the tip of the head of Taipei 101 Building. Photo/Wikipedia
The name of the typhoon has a story, and the name of the typhoon has a story. Every year during the typhoon season, people can remember several new names: "Wukong" flew away, "Dujuan" landed, and "Mangkhut" rolled over...... These bizarre names are the result of the nomination of 10 of the 14 member countries and territories of the World Meteorological Organization, which are unanimously endorsed, and then reused in alphabetical order and recycled year after year.
▲ List of Chinese names of typhoons in use. Name typhoons from left to right and top to bottom. The bold part of the frame line is the name of this year's Typhoon No. 1~30. Cartography/Jungle
For typhoons that have caused serious casualties and losses, the Typhoon Committee has discussed and confirmed that it will remove its name from the list and bind it to the typhoon, and will no longer participate in the cycle, which is often referred to as "delisting" in the news. The vacant seats will be filled by the named members of the typhoon who submit new names.
▲ On September 17, 2016, Typhoon "Meranti" passed through Xiamen, and workers were rushing to repair the high-voltage power tower. Due to the huge losses caused, "Meranti" was removed from the Typhoon Committee. Photo by Wang Huoyan
Typhoon, why do you prefer China?
China is one of the countries in the world hit the most by typhoons.
▲ Typhoon location, life cycle and risk level in coastal areas. The gray area on the map is the affected area, and no detailed data is available for Taiwan Province. Cartography / Paprika
We seem to have nothing to do about typhoons other than prevention and endurance. After all, in the face of absolute power, all attempts to turn defense into attack are futile. Let's feel the energy of the typhoon through the data: according to the popular science data of the China Weather Network, assuming that there is an even 50 mm of rain within a radius of 100 kilometers near the center of the typhoon, the heat released in one hour of rain is equivalent to the energy of more than 2,600 Hiroshima atomic bombs.
▲ On August 10, 2020, before the typhoon, the Lujiazui financial district of Shanghai was covered with dark clouds. Photo by Liu Yicun
How many provinces can a typhoon affect?
When typhoons hit, the eastern and southern coastal areas of the mainland bore the brunt. In addition to Taiwan, the treasure island that "shields the wind" for the mainland, Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang also have a deep understanding of the power of typhoons. In 1956, when typhoon monitoring technology was still underdeveloped, Typhoon "Wendai" landed in Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province, killing more than 3,000 people, and "Wendai" was also called "August 1 Typhoon" by the older generation, and in 2014, the strongest typhoon "Rammasun" since the founding of the People's Republic of China landed in Wenchang, Hainan, killing 88 people.
▲ In August 1956, Typhoon "Windei" caused heavy casualties. Image/Internet
In addition to taking lives, the typhoon also brought heavy winds and rain to the frontline areas. In September 2018, when Mangkhut crossed the border, the people of Shenzhen woke up and found that the journey to work had become a "jungle adventure". However, the zoo keepers found treasures in the mess left by the typhoon: thick branches and trunks, which were scarce on weekdays, can now be used to renovate animal cages.
▲ Above: The scene when Typhoon Mangkhut hit Shenzhen in 2018. Photo by Miscelanea Noticias Below: Stormy waves caused by the strong winds of Typhoon Lekima at Shitang Golden Beach Bathing Beach in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, August 9, 2019. Photo / People's Vision
For urban residents who do not have to "rely on the sky for food", typhoons can be ridiculed and even worth looking forward to, but for farmers, typhoons bring deep helplessness. "Mangkhut" swept across farmland, causing a large area of bananas, sugarcane and other cash crops to fall in South China, and waterlogging farmland. And the "Haguppi" that has just passed has also caused heavy losses to the medicinal herb growers in Pan'an, Zhejiang.
▲ The second destructive force of typhoons - heavy precipitation. Above: Heavy rainfall caused by a typhoon in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, has caused severe waterlogging in the urban area. Photo / People's Vision. Below: Itogon, Philippines Heavy rainfall from Typhoon Mangkhut caused a severe landslide that killed at least 30 people. Photo/Visual China
In Jiangsu and Shandong, where typhoons rarely make direct landfalls, the damage caused by typhoons cannot be ignored. In August 2018, under the influence of Typhoon "Umbia", strong winds broke out in Liuji Town in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, damaging more than 1,000 homes and killing a child. Shandong Shouguang, which donated vegetables to Wuhan at the beginning of this year, also lost a large number of vegetable greenhouses due to "Wenbia", which triggered a national rise in vegetable prices.
▲ In August 2018, Typhoon Haiyan passed through, leaving a mess in the Philippines. Photo/Wikipedia
Continuing northward, the "traditional typhoon zone" seems to be getting farther and farther away, but the wind and rain set off by the typhoon will not stop easily. In July 2018, Typhoon Appi departed from the sea east of the Philippines and made a strong headway northward, causing heavy rainfall in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei 3,000 kilometers away. In 2019, Typhoon Lekima brought heavy rain and flooding, causing 155,000 people in Liaoning Province to be evacuated.
▲ In July 2018, affected by Typhoon Appi, Beijing ushered in thunderstorms. Photo by Wu Xuewen
In addition to "walking vertically" along the coastline, typhoons can also penetrate deep into China's territory and "walk horizontally".
On land, due to terrain barriers, ground friction, and sea energy supply outages, the intensity of typhoons has been greatly weakened, but they can still cause secondary disasters. In 2013, Typhoon Ute brought the heaviest rainfall on record in Lanshan County, Hunan Province. Heavy rain triggered a mudslide and nine people were killed. In the face of typhoon "magic", even Yunnan, which is deep inland, is not immune to the "magic" - according to statistics, half of the heavy rainfall of more than 150 mm in Yunnan is directly related to typhoons or tropical depressions.
From ancient times to the present, how have Chinese lived in typhoons?
In ancient times, when there was no "eye in space", in the face of a tyrannical typhoon, the ancestors used the most simple means to summarize a set of prediction methods. Although the accuracy rate cannot be the same as today, it also shows the deep relationship between the Chinese and typhoons.
▲ The path and scope of typhoons affecting China. Cartography / Wang Yue
According to the "Suzhou Local Chronicles", the typhoon caused the water level of Taihu Lake to rise sharply: "In the first year of the Taiping of the Three Kingdoms (Wu) (256), on the first day of August, strong winds uprooted trees, Taihu Lake overflowed, and the water on the flat land was 8 feet high. In the second year of Tang Changqing (822), it rained heavily, Taihu Lake overflowed, and the flat ground was taken by boat. Another work, "Supplement to the History of the Tang Kingdom", truly records people's fear of typhoons: "The hurricane is strong...... The frightened do not dare to live in a house, for fear of overwhelming ...... This pavilion floats repeatedly, and the monks of the temple are all shouting Buddha. If the wind is fixed, the column is separated from the base ruler. ”
Fishermen along the coast of Fujian regard "between summer and autumn, there is a halo like a rainbow" as a sign of a typhoon. This phenomenon in the sky, known as the "mother hurricane", refers to the clouds on the horizon that are fan-open, also known as Cirrus divergence. Luminescent plankton, fish and seabirds are also among the "indicators of typhoons", and fishermen believe that if they suddenly gather on the shallow surface or stop on boats and are reluctant to leave, it means a typhoon is coming.
▲ Typhoons like to visit the coast of China in August and September. Cartography / Paprika
Due to the frequent typhoons, the ancient fishermen lived in very simple houses, and when the situation was bad, they could abandon their houses and take refuge in caves, and it would not be too difficult to rebuild after the disaster. However, with the increase of the settled population in the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian, the cost of retreat is getting higher and higher, and people choose to hold their positions, and the wind resistance of the houses has gradually increased: make full use of the natural barrier formed by the mountain, build the wall with heavy stones, build the wing house, reduce the airflow intensity of the main house, and use oyster shells to burn ash and adjust it into "glue" to stick the roof tiles together...... All this has created a unique architectural landscape of coastal villages.
▲ Shiwu Ancient Village is located in Yankeng Village, Shaojiadu, Linhai, Taizhou, Zhejiang. Photo by Chen Xuecheng
Now, in addition to fortifying the house, we have a more powerful means of defense. With the cooperation of satellites, computers, advanced information dissemination, and increasingly perfect emergency response mechanisms, we have been able to achieve more and more "zero typhoon casualties".
The world would not be better off without typhoons
Although typhoons often bring heart-wrenching damage and casualties, just as deserts control atmospheric circulation, volcanoes fertilize the land, and earthquakes maintain the balance of forces in the earth's lithosphere, our lives would be much worse without the "macro-control" of typhoons.
Without the "courier" of typhoons, it would be difficult for the moisture of the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean to reach the interior. After the "dragon boat water" and "plum rainy season", southern China entered a drought, the weather was unbearable, and the threat to agricultural production became increasingly severe. At this time, typhoons are needed to cool down the arid land and replenish water. In addition, thanks to the agitation of the ocean by typhoons, nutrients are transported to different areas of the sea, feeding marine life, and the fishing industry can be sustained.
▲ The cooling rainfall brought by the typhoon also played a great positive role in the growth of crops. The picture shows the farmland scenery after the rain in Taizhou, Zhejiang. Photo/Visual China.
Typhoons should not be extinguished, nor can they be extinguished. From the 40s to the 80s of the last century, American scientists successively implemented the "Cirrus Cloud Project" and the "Hurricane Project", trying to use dry ice and silver iodide to make the water in the clouds form ice crystals, release heat, expand the eye of the typhoon, and slow down the wind speed. After several experiments, not only did the structure and intensity of the hurricanes not change, but one of the hurricanes also suddenly killed after leaving the United States, causing strong dissatisfaction among the affected people. Scientists wanted to prove that "human intervention works", but they had to deny themselves in front of the public: "We really didn't do it!"
The cost of imposing intervention in a typhoon is difficult to estimate, and it can even trigger a chain reaction with catastrophic consequences. In addition to life and property, the hearts and minds that have been hit by disasters also need to be protected. In 2016, Typhoon "Meranti" landed in Xiamen, and the beautiful Egret Island was devastated, but Xiamen people issued a funny "word search inspiration": the word "Xia" in the conference center of Xiamen University was blown away by the wind, and the students who picked it up were asked to return it quickly. For some, one of the staples of typhoon season is to wait for the storm to subside and then roll up their trouser legs and go fishing in the streets. Happiness in suffering is the best spiritual reconstruction.
▲ In August 2020, Xiamen, Fujian Province, a returnee from the fight against typhoons. Photo by Wang Huoyan
Compared with "playing typhoon", "chasing typhoon" is more dangerous, more professional and more scientific. In 2001, China had its first "wind chasing team" to go to the front line to record first-hand information about typhoons. In 2006, the team was upgraded to the China Meteorological Channel's disaster weather reporting team, presenting shocking scenes to the world and providing guarantees for defense and rescue work. The wind chaser has become our eyes to peek into the raging nature.
There are not only scientific researchers, but also coastal fishermen and farmers who are accustomed to seeing strong winds and waves. They calmly talk about a certain typhoon of a certain year, rescue, shelter, and rebuild, and these heavy tasks seem to be just a part of life, and their tone is full of the unique tenacity of workers.
▲ After the typhoon, the city returned to its former tranquility. Photo by Liu Yicun
In the face of a typhoon, the heavy roof is just a piece of tissue paper, and even nuclear weapons are ridiculously small. It is often said that a "good typhoon" should cool down the rain, suspend work and schools, and cause no damage, but as climate change intensifies, the intensity of typhoons is on the rise, and our struggle with typhoons will continue for a long time. May all lives survive every typhoon safely.