Tropical Storm Trami - Oct 2024

A new tropical cyclone named TRAMI ("Kristine" in the Philippines) formed over the western Philippine Sea on 20 October very early in the afternoon (UTC) and started moving west toward central-northern Luzon island, northern Philippines, strengthening. On 22 October at 0.00 UTC its centre was located over the sea, approximately 320 km east of the central Bicol region (southern Luzon island), with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h (tropical storm). On the forecast track, TRAMI is expected to continue moving northwestward further strengthening and to make landfall over the eastern Cagayan Valley region, northern Luzon island on 23 October very early in the afternoon (UTC), with maximum sustained winds of 93 km/h (tropical storm). (ECHO, 22 Oct 2024)

Tropical storm TRAMI (named Kristine in the Philippines), is moving north-westwards and is approaching the north-eastern coasts of Luzon, northern Philippines. On 23 October at 3.00 UTC its centre was located over the sea, approximately 200 km east of Casiguran, Aurora province, Central Luzon region with maximum sustained winds of 85 km/h (tropical storm) and gusts up to 105 km/h. Following its influence over at least four regions of the Philippines, national authorities report three missing people and one injured person in the Bicol region. In addition, more than 12,600 have been displaced and more than 382,000 affected across Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula. TRAMI is forecast to make landfall in an area between the eastern coasts of Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon on 23 October late morning. After that, it will cross northern Luzon and it will continue westwards over the South China Sea moving towards central-eastern Vietnam in the next few days. (ECHO, 23 Oct 2024)

Tropical storm TRAMI (named Kristine in the Philippines) made landfall over the eastern coast of Cagayan Valley, north-eastern Luzon in the afternoon of 23 October. On 24 October at 3.00 UTC, its centre was located inland in the vicinity of Aguinaldo municipality, Ifugao Province, Cordillera Administrative Region region, northern Philippines with maximum sustained winds of 95 km/h (tropical storm) and gusts up to 115 km/h. (ECHO, 24 Oct 2024)

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reports, as of 25 October, 13 fatalities, seven people still missing, and five injured across five regions. NDRRMC also reports nearly 319,700 displaced and a total of approximately 2,656,500 affected people across most of the Luzon island. (ECHO, 25 Oct 2024)

Tropical cyclone TRAMI ("Kristine" in the Philippines) continued moving westward over the South China Sea on 25-27 October, further weakening but remaining a tropical storm. On 28 October after 0.00 UTC it made landfall over the Da Nang city area (central Viet Nam), with maximum sustained winds of 83 km/h. On 28 October at 0.00 UTC its centre was located inland over the central Quang Nam Province (central Viet Nam), with maximum sustained winds of 56 km/h (tropical depression). In the Philippines, its passage over Luzon, Visayas and northern Mindanao caused very heavy rainfall, floods and landslides. NDRRMC reports, as of 28 October, 97 fatalities, 30 people still missing, 69 injured people, 6.7 million affected and over 980,000 displaced people. In central Viet Nam, ADINet reports one person still missing, four injured people, nearly 62,000 affected people, and around 15,500 damaged houses. On the forecast track, TRAMI is expected to continue moving eastward, re-entering in the South China Sea on 28-29 October, further weakening and dissipating. (ECHO, 28 Oct 2024)

Tropical cyclone TRAMI is dissipating over the South China Sea after it made landfall over eastern Quang Nam province (eastern-central Vietnam) on 27 October. According to the ASEAN Disaster Information Network (ADINet), in Vietnam, one person died and another is still missing in Quang Binh province while five people have been injured across the provinces of Quang Tri and Quang Nam. Moreover, more than 138,000 people have been affected as well as 34,519 houses. Its passage over the Philippines on 23-24 October, resulted in 111 fatalities, 74 injured people and 30 still missing. In addition, a total of 7,134,954 people have been affected and almost 1,000,000 displaced across most regions of the country. (ECHO, 29 Oct 2024)

In the Philippines, Tropical Storm Kristine (local name) has caused devastating impacts across 17 regions. Approximately 7.1 million people were affected and 935,114 individuals displaced. 83,777 houses were damaged and more than 61,746 hectares of crops washed away, which severely affected transportation and communication networks. As of October, it was the deadliest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2024. According to the Department of Education, PHP 3.3 billion worth of infrastructure was damaged in more than 38,000 schools. (IFRC, 30 Oct 2024)

More than 7.9m people (2m families) have been affected across 17 out of 18 regions in the Philippines. Around 684.9k have been displaced, of which 250.6k people are in evacuation centres (EC) and 434.3k temporarily staying elsewhere. The number of casualties has risen with 141 reported deaths, 86 injured, and 21 missing. Clean up and recovery efforts are ongoing in areas where flood waters have started to recede, and people have started to return to their houses. (OCHA and HCT Philippines, 1 Nov 2024)

According to ADINet, in Viet Nam, five people died in Quang Binh province and five others were injured (four in Quang Nam and one in Quang Tri). Moreover, 143,424 people have been affected and 318 houses damaged. In China, seven people died and another person is still missing across Hainan island. (ECHO, 31 Oct 2024)

While STS Trami was exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), Tropical Cyclone Kong-rey (local name Leon), which intensified into a super typhoon, passed near the eastern seaboard of the country. The combined number of people affected by STS Trami and STY Kong-rey exceeded 8.8 million (about 2.25 million families). More than 711k people are still displaced, of which 194k people are in evacuation centres. Most of the displaced population is in Region 5, particularly in Camarines Sur and Albay Provinces, where the massive flooding occurred. The number of casualties have reportedly increased from the last reporting period; 151 reported deaths, 134 injured, and 21 missing. One of the hardest hit sectors is agriculture, with 111,411 farmers and fisherfolks affected. The estimated cost of damage to agriculture has reached over US$ 102 million (or PHP 6 billion). (OCHA, 5 Nov 2024)

In the Philippines, regions affected by Typhoon Kristine, including Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), Region 3 (Central Luzon) are facing issues like open defecation, uncollected trash, and outbreaks of diarrhea and measles. Despite pre-emptive evacuations helping reduce losses, the government’s water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) supplies were insufficient. (UNICEF, 29 Nov 2024) As of 2 December, 3,300 households affected by STS Kristine in Libon, Albay and Camarines Sur (Milaor, Baao, Magarao and Bombon) received hygiene and water kits. (UNICEF, 6 Dec 2024)