Lessons from Hagibis: Learning to cope with intensifying disasters in the age of new normal

Typhoon Hagibis (meaning “speed” in Tagalog; also known as Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon or Japan Typhoon Number 19 of 2019) caused widespread destruction in Japan in October 2019. It was the strongest typhoon to strike mainland Japan in decades, and one of the largest typhoons ever recorded in terms of its diameter. It was also the costliest Pacific typhoon recorded in history, causing a total of 15 billion US dollars in financial damage. This report summarizes the key lessons from this typhoon with a hope that they will help other countries prepare for similar disasters, which may become more frequent with the changing climate.