Simulation of Storm Surges, Wave Heights, and Flooding Inundation During Typhoons in the Zhuanghe Coastal Waters, China

The Zhuanghe coast in the northern part of the Yellow Sea is one of China’s important fishing and ocean engineering areas. Frequent storm surge events pose a significant threat to residents’ safety and properties. This study used the coupled Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM) and the Surface Wave Model (FVCOM-SWAVE) to investigate storm surges and wave heights during Typhoons Muifa (1109) and Lekima (1909) in the northern parts of the Yellow Sea and analyze the impact of the typhoon parameters on flood inundation on the Zhuanghe coast. The wind stress comparison in the coupled wave–current model uses synthetic wind field data formed by superimposing ERA5 wind fields with a parameterized typhoon model. The results showed that the simulated and measured tide levels, wave heights, and storm surges were in good agreement, indicating that the coupled model accurately reproduced the dynamics of the storm surges and wave heights during the two typhoons. The maximum significant wave height (Hs) exhibited a right-skewed distribution in the two typhoons’ paths, with extreme values consistently located to the right of the typhoon’s center. The decrease in atmospheric pressure at the center of Typhoon Muifa was significantly, nonlinearly, and positively correlated with the severity of storm surge disasters. A significant correlation was observed between the path of Typhoon Muifa and the disaster intensity.