Tropical Storm Nanmadol Poised for China Landfall after Battering Taiwan and Philippines

BOSTON, Aug. 30, 2011 – According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Tropical Storm Nanmadol is moving slowly at about 3.2 km/h across the Taiwan Strait toward a landfall in China’s Fujian province sometime in the next 12 hours. Nanmadol’s current sustained winds are at about 85 km/h, having weakened to tropical storm strength after it made a landfall on southernmost Taiwan early Monday morning local time as a Category 1 typhoon. Nanmadol currently is heading toward Xiamen, Fujian’s second-largest city (population 1.5 million, 2010). As of the Japan Meteorological…

Read More

Irene Becomes First Hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season

According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Irene became the Atlantic basin’s first hurricane of the 2011 season when its winds strengthened to 75 miles per hour at about 5:00 AM Monday morning as it was exiting Puerto Rico’s northern coast. Currently a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with sustained winds of 80 mph, Irene is expected to strengthen further over the next few days, potentially reaching Category 3 status by Saturday, depending on how long it remains over the ocean. “Hurricane Irene is the ninth…

Read More