Typhoon Jebi, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Maymay, was the costliest typhoon in Japan's history in terms of insured losses. Jebi formed from a tropical disturbance south-southwest of Wake Island on August 26 and became the twenty-first named storm of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season on August 27. Amid favorable environmental conditions, Jebi quickly strengthened into a typhoon on August 29 as it headed west and rapidly intensified as it passed the Northern Mariana Islands on August 30.
Jebi reached its peak intensity as a Category 5-equivalent typhoon on August 31, with 10-minute sustained winds of , 1-minute sustained winds of , and a minimum pressure of 915 hPa (mbar; 27.02 inHg). Afterwards, Jebi began a slow weakening trend as it turned northwest, briefly passing through the Philippine Area of Responsibility on September 2. Jebi accelerated north-northeast towards Japan on September 3 as it interacted with the westerlies, and made landfalls over Shikoku and near Kobe early on September 4. Jebi quickly weakened over land and became an extratropical cyclone later that day over the Sea of Japan. Its remnants moved over the Russian Far East before dissipating on September 9.
Jebi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Japan since Yancy in 1993 and left significant effects across the Kansai region. The typhoon's powerful winds, which broke wind records at 100 Japanese weather stations, damaged nearly 98,000 houses and left nearly 3 million customers without electricity after blowing down power lines. Heavy rains combined with wind and storm surge to flood over 700 houses and cause widespread damage to infrastructure, including several shrines and historical buildings. Agricultural damage from the adverse weather conditions was significant, with losses from the agricultural, forestry, and fishing industries valued at almost JP¥47 billion (US$ million). Fruits were blown off trees, crops were lodged, and power outages affected the storage of livestock and produce. Storm surge inundated part of Kansai International Airport, which, combined with wind and rain damage to the terminals, forced the airport to close from September 4 to 13. Furthermore, access to the airport was cut off when the typhoon blew a tanker into the bridge connecting the airport to the mainland; repairs to the bridge were completed seven months later. Fourteen people were killed in Japan—mostly from falls and flying debris—and 980 were injured. Insured losses were estimated at US$13–14 billion, of which more than a third was from Osaka Prefecture.
Elsewhere, Jebi brought minor flooding to the Northern Mariana Islands as it passed to the north on August 31. Heavy swells produced by Jebi caused large waves along the coast of Taiwan that resulted in seven fatalities (including a suspected suicide) from September 2 to 3. As an extratropical cyclone on September 5, Jebi produced gusty winds across the Russian Far East, causing power outages and injuring three.
Despite the extensive economic losses brought on by the storm, the name Jebi was not retired after the 2018 season, and was used again in 2024, though it would be retired following that season due to its similar pronunciation to that of a derogatory word in the Croatian language. In 2026, the name will be replaced with Narae, which means 'wing' in Korean.
Meteorological history
A tropical disturbance was first noted by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) on August 26 about 1,020 km (635 mi) south-southwest of Wake Island. The disturbance increased in organization over the next few hours, with rainbands wrapping into a developing low-level circulation center. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) classified the system as a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC on August 26, with the JTWC following suit at 06:00 UTC the next day. Further development was expected as the depression tracked northwest around a subtropical ridge, with high sea surface temperatures and low wind shear ahead in the system's anticipated path. The JMA deemed the cyclone to have attained tropical storm status at 18:00 UTC on August 27 and assigned it the name Jebi; with this, Jebi became the twenty-first named storm of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season. The JTWC similarly upgraded the system six hours later. With favorable winds aloft aiding the development of thunderstorm activity, Jebi continued to strengthen as it turned more westward under the influence of the subtropical ridge. The JMA upgraded Jebi to a severe tropical storm at 12:00 UTC on August 28 as its maximum sustained winds increased to .
Amid the favorable environment, Jebi began to intensify more quickly on August 29, reaching typhoon status at 06:00 UTC as it developed an eye feature visible on microwave satellite imagery. Rapid intensification commenced later that day, as a central dense overcast blossomed over the system's center. From August 29 to 30, Jebi's satellite presentation swiftly improved as its eye cleared out and contracted to a diameter of 19 km (12 mi), while convection surrounding the eye deepened. The JTWC analyzed that Jebi intensified into a super typhoon by 18:00 UTC on August 30 with winds of , representing an increase of in the past 24 hours. The JMA reported that Jebi reached its peak intensity at 00:00 UTC on August 31 with winds of and a central pressure of 915 hPa (mbar; 27.02 inHg); the JTWC estimated that Jebi's winds continued to increase and peaked at at 06:00 UTC.
Jebi's intensity leveled off thereafter as an eyewall replacement cycle began, with the original eyewall encircled by a larger, secondary eyewall. The cycle completed by 21:00 UTC on August 31 while Jebi began to curve northward through a weakness in the subtropical ridge. Drier air then began to impinge on the southern portion on the circulation, resulting in continued weakening. At the same time, upper-level winds pushed subsiding air over the western part of Jebi's circulation, causing its convection to warm. As a result, the JTWC assessed that Jebi had weakened below super typhoon status by 18:00 UTC on September 1. Travelling northwestwards, Jebi entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) at 06:00 UTC on September 2 and received the local name Maymay; Jebi exited the PAR roughly 12 hours later. Slow weakening continued through September 3 as dry air and subsidence continued to affect Jebi's circulation. Despite this, Jebi managed to maintain a ragged yet well-defined eye.
Later on September 3, an extratropical cyclone approaching from the northwest began to accelerate Jebi north-northeast, while interaction with the mid-latitude westerlies caused Jebi to begin extratropical transition. Racing poleward, Jebi made landfall over southern Tokushima Prefecture at around 03:00 UTC on September 4, possessing winds of around . In the next two hours, Jebi crossed Osaka Bay and made another landfall around 05:00 UTC near Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. Land interaction and increasing wind shear rapidly weakened the system as it crossed Japan, with the JTWC declaring that Jebi was no longer a tropical cyclone at 12:00 UTC on September 4, just hours after it entered the Sea of Japan. The JMA downgraded Jebi to a severe tropical storm at 18:00 UTC, before later declaring it post-tropical at 00:00 UTC on September 5 just offshore Terneysky District, Russia. Over the next two days, the remnants of Jebi headed generally north over the Russian Far East while gradually weakening, crossing the 60th parallel north before the JMA ceased tracking the system at 06:00 UTC on September 7.
Impact Northern Mariana Islands Jebi passed just north of the Northern Mariana Islands as an intensifying typhoon on August 31, necessitating the issuance of a typhoon warning for the islands of Agrihan, Alamagan, and Pagan. A high surf advisory and small craft advisory were issued for Saipan and Tinian as heavy swells affected the islands. The small size of the typhoon's inner core meant that damage in Agrihan, Alamagan, and Pagan was limited to minor flooding.
Taiwan When Jebi veered northward on September 2 and 3, east of the Ryukyu Islands, it brought large waves to the east coast of Taiwan. On September 2, at Mystery Beach in Nan'ao Township, Yilan County, five people riding all-terrain vehicles were swept out to sea and drowned; at least four of the bodies were recovered. To prevent further loss of life, Mystery Beach was closed to the public from September 5 to 14. At Neipi Beach in Su'ao Township, a passerby drowned while he was rescuing an eight-year-old girl on September 2. One more death occurred there the next day: a woman was swept out to sea in what was suspected by an eyewitness to be a suicide.
Japan
Typhoon Jebi was the most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall on Japan since Typhoon Yancy in 1993, causing significant damage in the Kansai region. Fourteen people were killed across the country and 46 others were seriously injured, while another 934 people received minor injuries. The typhoon's strong winds damaged 97,910 houses, of which 68 collapsed and 833 suffered major damage, while heavy rains and storm surge flooded another 707 houses. Another 6,527 buildings were damaged. The General Insurance Association of Japan reported that nearly JP¥1.07 trillion (US$ billion) in payouts had been made by March 2019, of which JP¥601 billion (US$ billion) was in Osaka Prefecture alone. Insured losses were estimated at US$13–14 billion in December 2019, placing Jebi as the costliest typhoon to hit Japan in terms of insured losses.
Ahead of the storm, emergency evacuation orders were issued for parts of Osaka, Hyōgo, Nara, Wakayama, and Kagawa prefectures. Evacuation advisories were issued for Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, Kyoto, Okayama, Tokushima, and Kōchi prefectures. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported that in total, about 8,000 residents evacuated to 1,667 shelters in 24 prefectures. In Osaka, department stores and other commercial facilities were closed. Public schools were closed in the cities of Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, as well as in Wakayama Prefecture. Several tourist attractions were closed to visitors, including Universal Studios Japan, the Kyoto City Zoo, the Kyoto Aquarium, Nijō Castle, and the Kyoto Imperial Palace. JR-West suspended operations in the Keihanshin region on September 4. Services along the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, as well as the San'yō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Hiroshima stations, were halted on September 4. At least 912 flights in and out of Osaka were cancelled. Factories across the Kansai and Chūbu regions were closed, with notable companies affected including Daikin, Panasonic, Daihatsu, and Toyota. Major department store operators, such as J. Front Retailing, H2O Retailing, and Takashimaya, closed their Kansai outlets. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled a trip to Kyushu to oversee state response efforts.
Jebi set new records for 10-minute maximum sustained winds at 53 weather stations and broke records for wind gusts at 100 weather stations in Japan, mostly on September 4. The highest sustained winds from Jebi were recorded at Cape Muroto, at . At Kansai International Airport, a gust of was recorded, which was significantly higher than the previous record set by Typhoon Cimaron just 12 days earlier. Significant winds occurred even in urban areas, with downtown Wakayama experiencing maximum sustained winds of up to and gusts reaching . Similarly, the financial center of Osaka, Chūō-ku, recorded a maximum gust of . The maximum storm surge produced by Jebi was in Osaka, surpassing the previous record of from the 2nd Muroto Typhoon (Typhoon Nancy) in 1961.