Severe Tropical Storm Ma-on, known in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as Severe Tropical Storm Florita, was a

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depen ...

that impacted the Philippines in August 2022. The ninth named storm of the

2022 Pacific typhoon season The 2022 Pacific typhoon season was the third consecutive season to have below-average tropical cyclone activity, with twenty-five named storms, although it was more active than the previous seasons by named storm count. Ten became typhoons, a ...

, Ma-on originated as a disturbance over in the Pacific Ocean on August 18, and was upgraded to a tropical depression during the next day. The depression strengthened into a tropical storm receiving the name ''Ma-on'', and became a severe tropical storm late on August 23 before making landfall in the Philippines. It would later make landfall in China and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

on August 25. Ma-on weakened back to a tropical depression and due to unfavorable conditions it dissipated on August 26, 2022. The storm caused moderate damage in the

, China and Vietnam.

Meteorological history

A disturbance that would eventually become Severe Tropical Storm Ma-on was first noted by the

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

(JTWC) on August 18, while it was located about southeast of

Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. Deep convection associated with the disturbance strong low level persisted. Favourable environment for further development, being offset by warm

sea surface temperatures Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mas ...

of around 29–30 °C (84–86 °F). During August 19, the

Japan Meteorological Agency The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...

began tracking a low pressure in the Philippine Sea. The system moved westwards, eventually developing into a tropical depression on August 20. The

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae * PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal José Prot ...

(PAGASA) began tracking the system, giving the local name ''Florita'' on August 21. On the same day, the JTWC issued a

Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formin ...

(TCFA) for the system. Shortly afterwards, the JTWC designated the system as ''10W''. Satellite imagery indicated that it had formative bands with a

low-level circulation center The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically in diameter. It is surrounded by the ''eyewall'', a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weat ...

(LLCC). By August 22, the JMA classified the system as a tropical storm and named the storm ''Ma-on''. Later on, the JTWC and PAGASA also upgraded the system into a tropical storm. Ma-on began to moved slowly, under the influence of a subtropical ridge off the coast of Luzon. At 18:00 UTC, the JMA upgraded Ma-on to severe tropical storm status. The PAGASA reported that the system intensified into a severe tropical storm on August 23. At that time, multispectral animated satellite imagery revealed a symmetrical central convection. Ma-on made landfall over Maconacon in the province of Isabela around 10:30 ( PHT) (02:30 UTC). The system continued consolidating which allowed it to organized a small microwave eye. Traversing the Luzon Islands before it emerged over the coastal of Ilocos Norte. Ma-on exited the

Philippine Area of Responsibility The Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is an area in the Northwestern Pacific where PAGASA, the Philippines' national meteorological agency, monitors weather occurrences. Significant weather disturbances, specifically tropical cyclones that ...

at 05:00 PHT August 24 (21:00 UTC August 23). Upper-Level near the storm's center struggled to organize due to moderate to strong east-northeasterly shear. An Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) pass indicated that the storm was along the southern of the system. Ma-on moved west-northwest and subsequently made second landfall just southwest of Yangjiang, China on August 25. Shortly after the landfall, the JTWC discontinued warnings on the system. Ma-on later become unfavorable of its intensity. As a result, the JMA downgraded the system to a tropical storm at 06:00 UTC that day. Ma-on moved west to the Gulf of Tonkin, and made third and final landfall in

Móng Cái Móng Cái () is a city of Quảng Ninh Province in northern Vietnam. Located on China–Vietnam border, it sits on the southern bank of Beilun River across Dongxing city of China's Guangxi Autonomous Region. It has a population of about 103,000 ...

City, Quảng Ninh Province in Vietnam on 13:00 UTC. After that, JMA declared that Ma-on weakened to a tropical depression, until it was last noted in Northern Vietnam on August 26.

Preparations and impact

Philippines

Ahead of the storm's arrival, PAGASA placed the provinces of Aurora, Isabela and Cagayan under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) #1 on August 21, 2022. During the next day, PAGASA raised TCWS #2 before TCWS #3 was ultimately issued and extended to include other parts of Luzon on August 23. President Bongbong Marcos suspended classes and government work in some areas in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

on August 23 and 24 just one day after the opening of full face-to-face classes, two years since the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of , reported cases, resulting in reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was ...

prompted schools to shift to distance or online learning. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said that 16,654 food packs had been prepared. In Isabela, heavy rains brought by the storm caused four overflow bridges to be impassable. In Cagayan, 10,608 hectares of rice and corn farms were destroyed. In Pampanga, 39 barangays were flooded. In Cordillera, 1,882 search and rescue cop teams were placed on standby. Power outages were reported in Northern Luzon. Flights from Manila to Bicol were cancelled due to inclement weather. The Philippine Army conducted disaster response operations. The

Philippine Coast Guard The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ( fil, Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas) is recognized as the third armed uniformed service of the country attached to the Philippines' Department of Transportation, tasked primarily with enforcing laws within P ...

(PCG) deployed 11 aluminum boats in Marikina City. According to the BJMP, 740 inmates were evacuated. The

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA; fil, Pangasiwaan sa Pagpapaunlad ng Kalakhang Maynila) is a government agency of the Philippines responsible for constituting the regional government of Metro Manila, comprising the capital ...

temporarily suspended their number coding scheme. The NDRRMC reported 17,510 affected people, 4,330 were displaced. At least 4 people were dead, and another 4 were injured. Infrastructure damage was estimated to be ₱ (US$), while agricultural damage was estimated to be ₱ (US$).

Elsewhere

In Vietnam, Ma-on caused multiple flooded and uprooted trees. 135,000 were planned to evacuate. Ma-on brought heavy rains; Dong Trieu received and at least in Dong Son. In total 321 households were flooded, with 38 households were deeply flooded in Uông Bí. So far, a total of 3 people were reported killed by the storm. In Laos, flash floods exacerbated by Ma-on. Villages along the Nam Ko river have been damaged. Thousands of people are reportedly affected.

References

External links