Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Compound Tropical Cyclone Events and Their Economic Losses

GUO Qian; SU Buda; JIANG Tong; ZHANG Ji; WEN Shanshan; ZHAI Jianqing

doi:10.16032/j.issn.1004-4965.2025.060

Abstract：In recent years,the occurrence of multiple tropical cyclones(TCs)which consecutively impact the same region,resulting in significant economic losses,has become increasingly frequent.This study defines a compound TC event as an occurrence where the 50 km impact zones centered on the tracks of multiple TCs overlap spatially and the temporal interval between their impacts is no more than 10 days.Based on a dataset of Northwest Pacific TCs from 1949 to 2022 and TC disaster data in China from 1984 to 2022,we identify compound TC events and analyze their spatiotemporal characteristics of economic losses.The results indicate that:(1)From 1949 to 2022,an average of approximately 6.9 compound TC events occurred per decade,with significant differences in frequency across decades and a peak during 1960s.About 14.8%of the national territory was impacted by compound TC events,affecting not only traditionally vulnerable areas(such as the southeast coast)but also mid-to high-latitude coastal and adjacent inland regions,with the largest affected area observed in the 2010s.(2)In the years with recorded compound TC events from 1984 to 2022,direct economic losses from these events account for approximately 39%of total TC losses,increasing at a rate of 9.6%per decade,indicating a growing destructiveness of compound TC events.The average economic losses from high-intensity compound TCs were about 2.2 times greater than those of low-intensity compound TCs.(3)Economic losses from compound TC events are significantly higher than those from single TCs,highlighting the pronounced disaster amplification effect.Traditional TC-affected areas are particularly susceptible to high-intensity compound TCs,while mid-latitude regions exposed to low-intensity compound TCs are likely to incur severe economic losses,necessitating improvements in typhoon disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities.