Anatomies of Historical Storm Events in the Pacific

To reduce their vulnerability to the economic, social, and environmental risks associated with extreme storm events, decision-makers in coastal communities need timely access to accurate information that affords them an opportunity to plan and respond accordingly. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Integrated Data and Environmental Applications (IDEA) Center has initiated the Pacific Region Integrated Climatology Information Products (PRICIP) project to improve our understanding of patterns and trends of storm frequency and intensity -"storminess"- within the Pacific region and develop a suite of integrated information products. An initial focus of this effort is the development of web-based summaries of extreme storm events that have occurred within the Pacific region. These historical "event anatomies" include a summary of sector-specific socioeconomic impacts associated with a particular event as well as its historical context climatologically. Hurricane Iniki, Super Typhoons Chata'an and Pongsona, and Cyclone Heta are the events being used to create product prototypes. The intent of this targeted information product is to convey the impacts associated with extreme events and the causes for them to emergency managers and coastal planners in a manner that is easy to access, understand, and use.