TAIFU

Typhoon is knocking in Okinawa Island of Japan. (Fortunately or unfortunately its heading towards Ishigaki Islands of Japan near Taiwan, and Taiwan through China.) TAIFU in Japanese for typhoon is a large low pressure system, originating over the Northwest Pacific Ocean. It is accompanied by strong winds of up to around 200 km/h, a rise of the sea level and torrential rainfalls. Over the Atlantic Ocean, typhoons are known as hurricanes.

About thirty typhoons form each year over the Northwest Pacific Ocean, of which typically about seven to eight pass over Okinawa Prefecture. Most typhoons hit Japan between May and October with August and September being the peak season. Typhoons later in the season tend to be stronger than typhoons earlier in the season. A typhoon moves at a relatively slow pace (around 20 km/h), and its path can be predicted quite accurately in advance. Japanese media provides detailed typhoon coverage, informing the public about the predicted path, weather warnings and impact on transportation.

Strong typhoons often bring the region's transportation system to a standstill, with airplanes and trains being stopped and expressways being closed. Yet, transport and accommodation operators are usually cooperative in rescheduling or canceling typhoon affected reservations at no cost. The biggest dangers posed by typhoons are landslides and the sudden rise of water levels.

Typhoon is more less like a tropical storm or cyclone. The term is most often used for cyclones occurring in the western Pacific Ocean. The word is an alteration of the Arabic or Persian word, tufan, meaning hurricane, and the Greek word, typhon, meaning violent storm. It was also influenced by the Cantonese word tah fung (literally "striking wind", but actually used to refer to tropical cyclones).In Greek Typhon, is the god of the winds, who personifies storm thunder winds.

According to statistics, nearly one-third of the world's tropical cyclones form within the Western Pacific. This makes this basin the most active. Pacific typhoons like the one we are experiencing now in Okinawa Japan, have formed year round, with peak months from August to October. Along with is a high storm frequency, these typhoons have the most globally intense storms on record.