Typhoon Karen
| Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Typhoon Karen on November 14
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| Formed | November 7, 1962 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | November 18, 1962 |
| (Extratropical after November 17, 1962) | |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 295 km/h (185 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 894 hPa (mbar); 26.4 inHg |
| Fatalities | 11 total, 26 missing |
| Damage | $250 million (1962 USD) |
| Areas affected | Guam, Mariana Islands, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands |
| Part of the 1962 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Karen was the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike the island of Guam, and has been regarded as one of the most destructive events in the island's history. It was first identified as a tropical disturbance on November 6, 1962, well to the southeast of Truk. Over the following two days, the system tracked generally northward and quickly intensified. Karen became a tropical storm late on November 7, and within two days it explosively intensified into a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Turning westward, the typhoon maintained its intensity and struck Guam with winds of 280 km/h (175 mph) on November 11. Once clear of the island, it strengthened slightly and reached its peak intensity on November 13 with winds of 295 km/h (185 mph) and a barometric pressure of 894 mb (hPa; 26.40 inHg). The storm then gradually turned northward as it weakened, brushing the Ryukyu Islands on November 15, before moving east-northeastward over the open waters of the Pacific. Karen continued to weaken and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on November 17 before losing its identity the following day between Alaska and Hawaii.
Karen devastated Guam with wind gusts estimated up to 280 km/h (185 mph). Ninety-five percent of homes were damaged or destroyed, leaving at least 45,000 people homeless. Communication and utilities were crippled, forcing officials to set up water distribution centers to prevent disease. Total losses on the island amounted to $250 million. Despite the severity of the damage, only 11 people were killed. In the wake of the storm, a massive relief operation evacuated thousands to California, Hawaii, and Wake Island. Thousands more were sheltered in public buildings, and later tent villages, for many months. More than $60 million in relief funds were sent to Guam over the following years to aid in rehabilitation. Though the storm was devastating, it spurred new building codes and a revitalized economy.
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