Half of the roughly 20 tropical cyclones expected to form in the western Pacific Ocean through September this year are predicted to hit land in east Asian nations, forecasters said on Friday, making for a season that is busier than usual.
Tropical cyclones, also known as typhoons and hurricanes, can pack wind speeds ranging from 63 kph to 250 kph, and the accompanying rain and storm surges can devastate coastal regions.
Such storms have wrought havoc running into damages of more than $175 billion across Asia in the past decade, international disaster database EM-DAT shows.