page_title: Typhoon Muifa (2011)
section_title: Okinawa
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Muifa (2011) / Impact / Okinawa
caption_attribution_description: English: Typhoon Muifa on August 5, 2011, south of Japan
context_page_description: Typhoon Muifa, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kabayan, was a large, powerful and persistent typhoon which affected a number of countries in the Pacific, killing 22 and causing widespread damage worth US$480 million. It was the ninth named storm, third typhoon and the second super-typhoon of the 2011 Pacific typhoon season.
  The low-pressure area which became Typhoon Muifa originally formed on 23 July. It gradually drifted to the west, becoming a tropical depression. As it turned north and neared the Philippines it rapidly strengthened, becoming a Category 5 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. In the Philippines, the storm claimed eight lives and caused much damage. The system brought down trees; the northeast Philippines experienced strong winds and heavy rains, leaving motorists stranded on several roads and expressways. Muifa also sank a Malay ship with 178 passengers. The system then drifted north, weakening steadily until it curved to the west and threatened Micronesia. The typhoon hit Okinawa, Japan with 41 inches of rain, flooding the small island and injuring 37 people in a 30-hour period.
context_section_description: On 5 August, the storm passed just 45 nautical miles (83 km) southwest of Kadena Air Base, bringing sustained winds of 65 knots (75 mph; 120 km/h) and 41 inches (1,000 mm) of rain. Thirty-seven people were injured, six critically. Nearly 300 flights were cancelled, leaving 13,630 stranded.
caption: Typhoon Muifa near Okinawa Island on 5 August
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