Typhoon Koppu
Also known as: Typhoon Lando (PAGASA local name) · Typhoon 24W (Joint Typhoon Warning Center designation)
Definition
Typhoon Koppu, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Lando, was a slow-moving typhoon that inundated large areas of Luzon in October 2015. After landfall over Casiguran, Aurora, it stalled over the island for days, dumping prodigious rain that flooded Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Pampanga, and neighboring provinces. The deluge made Koppu one of the wettest and most agriculturally destructive storms of its decade despite only category 4-peak winds.
Identities
| Database | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Typhoon Koppu |
| Wikidata | Q21114794 |
| DBpedia | N/A |
Also Known As
- Typhoon Lando (PAGASA local name)
- Typhoon 24W (Joint Typhoon Warning Center designation)
Examples and Analogies
Koppu behaved like a stationary garden hose aimed at Central Luzon: because the storm crept westward at walking pace, the same provinces absorbed rainfall totals rivaling a month’s worth in 72 hours. The resulting plain-wide flood recalled the basin-wide inundation patterns of the 1970s great floods, with fishpond dykes and river levees overtopped across the Pampanga and Angat river systems.
Usage Scenarios
Koppu is cited by hydrologists studying rainfall persistence on the Central Luzon floodplain and by agriculturists estimating submergence losses for rice at different growth stages. Emergency managers use the event to justify early evacuation of “fish pond communities” and riverbank settlements in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija that become islands during basin flooding.
Strategies
Strategies included large-scale pre-emptive evacuations across affected provinces, coordinated dam discharge protocols between Angat, Pantabangan, and Bustos regulators, and post-flood “cash-for-work” diking repairs. Agriculture officials pursued quick replanting programs using early-maturing rice varieties to recover the lost cropping season.
Security and Safety Measures
PAGASA maintained Storm Warning Signals 3 to 4 over Aurora and neighboring provinces through the storm’s slow passage; sea travel bans and flight cancellations stranded thousands, later moved to holding areas. Rescuers enforced no-return rules for evacuated riverside barangays as rivers kept rising days after the winds had died.
Historical Context
Koppu formed east of the Philippines in mid-October 2015 and made landfall on 18 October at near-peak strength. It weakened to a tropical depression while crossing Luzon, exited into the South China Sea, and dissipated near Taiwan. Around fifty people died, and damage to rice, corn, and high-value crops placed Koppu among the costliest Philippine storms of the 2010s before Yolanda-era benchmarks.
Challenges and Controversies
Debates after Koppu centered on why thousands still refused evacuation despite days of warning, prompting proposals to institutionalize forced removals and to tie post-disaster aid to compliance. Fisherfolk and fishpond owners contested compensation formulas that valued stock losses conservatively, and engineers questioned the design standards of private dikes that failed across Bulacan.