1881 Haiphong typhoon

1881 Haiphong typhoon

Track of the Haiphong Typhoon
Formed	September 27, 1881
Dissipated	October 8, 1881
Lowest pressure	957 hPa (mbar); 28.26 inHg
Fatalities	Up to 300,000
Areas affected	Haiphong, Northern Vietnam Luzon, Captaincy General of the Philippines (now Philippines)
Part of the 1881 Pacific typhoon season

The 1881 Haiphong typhoon was a typhoon that struck Haiphong, in Dai Nam (now Vietnam), and the northern part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines (now the Philippines) on October 8, 1881.

The Gulf of Tonkin is one of the most frequently used paths for Pacific typhoons to strike the Asian Mainland. The 1881 Haiphong Typhoon traveled this route after it originated near the Spanish East Indies.

The city of Haiphong lies about 10 miles from the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin and also on the Red River in a low elevation area (delta), connected to an access channel. By the time the typhoon landed in 1881, the town was still a young port established by the French in 1874.

While the storm's category and strength is uncertain (like many disasters prior to the 20th century), records show that the storm developed near the Philippine in late September and by the time it hit Luzon (Philippine island) on September 30, it was already strong enough to cause casualties and disrupt society. Once it was in the South China Sea, its power increased again as it entered into the Gulf of Tonkin, avoiding anymore land before it hit the gulf's coast.

About 300,000 people were killed by the typhoon (casualties likely went up even in the storm's passing due to disease and starvation), 20,000 of whom were in the modern territory of the Philippines, making it the deadliest Philippine typhoon ever recorded. It was three times the casualty of Typhoon Haiyan, the deadliest Philippine typhoon in modern meteorological records, and is the third deadliest tropical cyclone in history of the world.

Haiphong, being a low-lying port town, was devastated both physically and economically. Its geography only made the damage escalate. With the high waves and winds, rice fields were flooded, buildings were decimated (and as a result, people either were drowned or left stranded), trees were ripped up, etc. By the time the typhoon passed, most of the town was wiped out. Then, due to the inability to operate as a port town, Haiphong's economy also took impact.