page_title: Typhoon Imbudo
section_title: Philippines
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Imbudo / Impact / Philippines
caption_attribution_description: Typhoon Imbudo is shown draped over the Philippines in this true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) from the Aqua satellite on July 22, 2003. The storm was a Super Typhoon just yesterday (July 21) but it weakened a bit over land. The storm is moving west-northwest, and is headed for the southern China coast.
context_page_description: Typhoon Imbudo, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Harurot, was a powerful typhoon that struck the Philippines and southern China in July 2003. The seventh named storm and fourth typhoon of the season, Imbudo formed on July 15 to the east of the Philippines. The storm moved generally west-northward for much of its duration due to a ridge to the north. Favorable conditions allowed Imbudo to intensify, gradually at first before undergoing rapid deepening on July 19. After reaching typhoon status, Imbudo strengthened further to peak 10–minute sustained winds of 165 km/h on July 20. The typhoon made landfall on northern Luzon near peak intensity on July 22, but quickly weakened over land. Once in the South China Sea, Imbudo re-intensified slightly before making its final landfall in southern China near Yangjiang on July 24, dissipating the next day.
  In the Philippines, Imbudo was the strongest typhoon in five years, causing widespread flooding and power outages in the Cagayan Valley for weeks. Damage was heaviest in Isabela province near where the storm struck. Most of the banana crop was destroyed, and other crops sustained similar but lesser damage.
context_section_description: Typhoon Imbudo was the strongest typhoon to strike Luzon since Typhoon Zeb five years prior, and was the fifth storm in eight weeks to affect the country. The typhoon left widespread areas flooded for several days. Cagayan Valley was largely isolated after a bridge was damaged in Ilocos Norte. Damage was heavy in the region, totaling P2.2 billion (PHP, $40 million USD), and over 80,000 people were displaced by the storm. Damage was heaviest in Isabela, where damage was estimated at P1.9 billion (PHP, US$35 million), mostly to crops and killed livestock. There, winds and rain knocked down trees and caused a province-wide power outage. Most trees less than three years old fell during the high winds. In Isabela province, the banana crop was almost entirely destroyed, and most of the corn and rice crops were heavily damaged. The high damage caused the gross regional product, or overall economy of the Cagayan Valley, to decrease by 0.3% than what would have happened without the typhoon.
  Power outages affected Metro Manila, and several billboards were damaged in the city, although there was minimal flooding in the capital. Adverse conditions caused the Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 1 to close for two hours, stranding hundreds. High winds knocked over a 12 m (40 ft) tree that killed five on Romblon Island. The rains brought the Magat Dam on Luzon to capacity. Landslides blocked a national highway in Nueva Ecija with debris and fallen trees, which were quickly cleared within a few days. On Mindanao, flash flooding from the outer periphery of the storm affected 18 towns, killing 11 people. In Maguindanao in the southern Philippines, flooding washed away 50 houses, forcing over 2,000 people to evacuate. Damage extended as far south as the Western Visayas. Across the Philippines, Imbudo damaged 62,314 houses, of which about 20% were destroyed. Housing damage was estimated at P1.2 billion (PHP, US$22 million), most of which in the Cagayan Valley. Overall damage in the country was estimated at about P4.7 billion (PHP, US$86 million). Of the total, about P1.9 billion (PHP, US$35 million) was in agriculture damage. Imbudo killed 64 people in the Philippines, mostly in Cagayan Valley, and injured another 154.
caption: Typhoon Imbudo over the Philippines on July 22
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