Typhoon Guchol to cost less than $500m

Typhoon Guchol (Butchoy), which struck Japan this week causing mass evacuations and transport chaos, is likely to cause insured losses in Japan of less than $500mn, according to cat modeller Eqecat.

Guchol made landfall in the Higashimuro District, Wakayama prefecture, around 5pm local time on Tuesday.

This is the fourth named storm and first super typhoon of the 2012 typhoon season with maximum wind speeds reaching 130 knots. Guchol weakened as it approached the eastern coast of Honshu and was downgraded to a Category 1 typhoon before making landfall. 

Wind speeds at landfall were 70 knots (10-minute average) as reported by Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) which converts to a one-minute sustained winds of 81 knots. Later in the day, Guchol made a second landfall near Nagoya, Chubu region as a tropical storm. Guchol traversed across Wakayama, Mie Aichi, Nagano, Gunma, and Fukushima before exiting into the Northern Pacific early on Wednesday and began transitioning into an extra tropical cyclone.

Kinki and Tokai regions recorded rain rate of 25-50mm/hour (1-2inch/hour) at the time of landfall. Rain rate in the Tohoku region was about 10-50mm/hour. Evacuations were issued for central, eastern, and northeastern regions of Japan and several international and domestic flights were cancelled. Delays and cancellations were also reported by mass transit such as high-speed trains, including roads closures in several regions. 

Elsewhere in the North West Pacific the fifth named storm of the season, Talim, formed on Monday. It has weakened to a depression and as of late Wednesday it was located about 20 nautical miles northwest of Taipei, Taiwan. It is expected to weaken further while moving northward and dissipate yesterday.