Typhoon Betty (1987)

Typhoon Betty (Herming)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Super Typhoon Betty at peak intensity
Formed	August 8, 1987
Dissipated	August 17, 1987
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 205 km/h (125 mph) 1-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph)
Lowest pressure	890 hPa (mbar); 26.28 inHg
Fatalities	92 total
Damage	$100 million (1987 USD)
Areas affected	Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand
Part of the 1987 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Betty, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Herming, was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that struck the Philippines in August 1987. The seventh typhoon and second super typhoon of the active typhoon season, it formed from the monsoon trough that spawned a tropical cyclone on August 8 while around positioned well to the east of the Philippines. It drifted northwestward, becoming a tropical storm on August 9 and a typhoon on August 10. Betty turned westward, where it rapidly intensified before attaining peak intensity on August 11. The next day, Typhoon Betty made landfall in the central Philippines. Betty weakened rapidly over the country, but restrengthened somewhat over the South China Sea. Land interaction weakened Betty slightly before it hit central Vietnam on August 16. The next day, Betty dissipated.

Across the Philippines, Typhoon Betty brought widespread flooding, which resulted in severe destruction. Damage added up to $100 million (1987 USD). In the Maguindanao and Albay provinces alone, 10,000 people were evacuated and 1,000 were homeless. However, the capital city of Manila avoided any serious damage. Nationwide, around 200,000 people were reportedly homeless, 18,000 of winch were from Marinduque and another 11,400 resided on Mindoro Island. In the former, 4,000 dwellings sustained damage, and all of the banana crop there was lost. In all, 25,518 homes received damage. Roughly 400,000 people were directly affected by the storm. Overall, 85 people were killed and 324 others were wounded. After striking the Philippines, six people were killed by Betty in Vietnam. Approximately 10,000 structures were damaged and 103 people were injured. Elsewhere, in northern Thailand, one person was killed and three others were hurt by the typhoon. Several villages were flooded, and numerous streets were damaged.

The origins of Typhoon Betty can be traced back to a tropical disturbance that was embedded in the monsoon trough on August 7, which extended from the Marshall Islands westward to the Philippines. Intensity estimates via the Dvorak technique yielded winds of 50 km/h (30 mph) around 65 km (40 mi) north-northwest of Belau in the western Caroline Islands. Following a rapid increase in organization, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) for the system early on August 8. Meanwhile, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) started tracking the system. Around this time, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration also monitored the storm and assigned it with the local name Herming. Early on August 9, Betty intensified into a tropical storm about 1,320 km (820 mi) east-southeast of Manila during the morning of August 9.