Tropical Storm Thelma

Tropical Storm Thelma (Uring)
Tropical storm (JMA scale)
Tropical storm (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Tropical Storm Thelma approaching the Philippines on November 4
Formed	November 1, 1991
Dissipated	November 8, 1991


Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 75 km/h (45 mph) 1-minute sustained: 85 km/h (50 mph)
Lowest pressure	992 hPa (mbar); 29.29 inHg


Fatalities	5,081 – 8,165 total
Damage	$27.67 million (1991 USD)
Areas affected	Philippines, Vietnam

Part of the 1991 Pacific typhoon season

Deadliest Philippine typhoons


Rank	Typhoon	Year	Deaths
1	September 1881 Typhoon	1881	7004200000000000000♠20,000
2	Haiyan (Yolanda)	2013	7003630000000000000♠6,300
3	Thelma (Uring)	1991	7003510000000000000♠5,100
4	Bopha (Pablo)	2012	7003190100000000000♠1,901
5	"Angela Typhoon"	1867	7003180000000000000♠1,800
6	Winnie	2004	7003161900000000000♠1,619
7	October 1897 Typhoon	1897	7003150000000000000♠1,500
8	Ike (Nitang)	1984	7003136300000000000♠1,363
9	Washi (Sendong)	2011	7003126800000000000♠1,268
10	Trix	1952	7002995000000000000♠995

Sources Philippine Storm Surge History by Project NOAH of PAGASA. Deadliest typhoons in the Philippines article published by ABS-CBN News on November 8, 2013. Worst Typhoons in the Philippines according to Typhoon 2000. NDRRMC Updates re Effects of TY YOLANDA (HAIYAN) by the NDRRMC on April 15, 2014. Historical deadly typhoons in the Philippines journal published in July 2008 by Pedro Ribera, Ricardo Garcia-Herrera and Luis Gimeno.

Tropical Storm Thelma, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Uring, was one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in Philippine history, killing at least 5,081 people. Forming out of a tropical disturbance on November 1, 1991, several hundred kilometers north-northeast of Palau, the depression that would become Thelma tracked generally westward. After turning southwestward in response to a cold front, the system intensified into a tropical storm on November 4 as it approached the Philippines. Hours before moving over the Visayas, Thelma attained its peak intensity with estimated ten-minute sustained winds of 75 km/h (45 mph) and a barometric pressure of 992 mbar (hPa; 29.29 inHg). Despite moving over land, the system weakened only slightly, emerging over the South China Sea on November 6 while retaining gale-force winds. Thelma ultimately succumbed to wind shear and degraded to a tropical depression. On November 8, the depression made landfall in Southern Vietnam before dissipating hours later.

While passing over the Philippines, Thelma's interaction with the high terrain of some of the islands resulted in torrential rainfall. Through a process known as orographic lift, much of the Visayas received 150 mm (6 in) of rain; however, on Leyte Island there was a localized downpour that brought totals to 580.5 mm (22.85 in). With the majority of this falling in a three-hour span, an unprecedented flash flood took place on the island. Much of the land had been deforestated or poorly cultivated and was unable to absorb most of the rain, creating a large runoff. This water overwhelmed the Anilao–Malbasag watershed and rushed downstream. Ormoc City, located past where the Anilao and Malbasag rivers converge, suffered the brunt of the flood. In just three hours, the city was devastated with thousands of homes damaged or destroyed. A total of 4,922 people were killed in the city alone, with 2,300 perishing along the riverbank.

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Wikipedia