Typhoon Wanda (1962)

Typhoon Wanda

Category 2 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
This TIROS weather satellite image of Typhoon Wanda was taken on August 30, 1962 at 0023 UTC
Formed	August 27, 1962
Dissipated	September 1, 1962
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 175 km/h (110 mph)
Lowest pressure	953 hPa (mbar); 28.14 inHg
Fatalities	434 total
Areas affected	British Hong Kong, Portuguese Macau and China
Part of the 1962 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Wanda was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in Hong Kong. It was the 59th disturbance in the record-breaking 1962 Pacific typhoon season, forming in August east of the Philippines. Typhoon Wanda reached peak winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) in the South China Sea, and it made landfall on Hong Kong on September 1, producing gusts of 261 km/h (161 mph) which, in combination with a high storm surge, damaged thousands of huts and left 72,000 people homeless. Wanda left a total of 434 deaths, and it is estimated that an identical typhoon striking today would cause HK$2.6 billion ($335 million USD) in losses.

The precursor disturbance to Typhoon Wanda was first observed on August 23 near Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. That day, a circulation formed in the interaction between the Mid-Pacific trough and an easterly wave, with energy from a surge in the Easterlies in the Southern Hemisphere. Initially winds were very weak, and it tracked west-northwestward while slowly gaining intensity. The official track from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) indicated the system first developed into a tropical cyclone on August 25, whereas the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) initiated advisories two days later, after it was observed by the Hurricane Hunters. It was designated Tropical Depression 59 while located about 1120 km (700 mi) northeast of the Philippines.

Throughout most of its duration, the cyclone maintained a general west-northwest track, although initial forecasts had a northward bias that anticipated a track into Taiwan. On August 28, reconnaissance aircraft reported winds of 75 km/h (45 mph), or tropical storm status; as such, the JTWC named the system Wanda. Throughout the day, Wanda quickly intensified, with the pressure dropping to 992 mbar and the winds reaching 110 km/h (70 mph) by the end of the day. The next day, Wanda attained typhoon status, and on August 30 it traversed the Luzon Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan. By that time, the typhoon was about 1600 km (1000 mi) wide, and the next day rainbands began affecting southeastern China and Hong Kong.