Typhoon Herb, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Huaning, was the strongest and the largest storm of 1996. Herb struck the Ryūkyū Islands,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

and the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, causing major damage. The name Herb was used in the Western Pacific name list for the first time after the list had been revised earlier in 1996. Although the name was not retired, the Western

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

name list was changed from English names to Asian names in 2000, so 1996 was in fact the only occasion when the name was used (it was never used in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

or the Eastern Pacific.)

Meteorological history

The active monsoon trough that spawned Typhoons Frankie (08W) and Gloria (09W) consolidated into a third area well east of the other two to develop Tropical Depression 10W near

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

on July 23. It moved northward at first, then westward in response to the subtropical ridge to its north. Tropical Depression 10W was upgraded to Tropical Storm Herb on July 24. Tropical Storm Herb moved west, growing in size and strengthening to Typhoon Herb on July 25 before 48 hours later reaching Category 4. Herb slightly weakened while it underwent a

Fujiwhara interaction The Fujiwhara effect, sometimes referred to as the Fujiwara effect, Fujiw(h)ara interaction or binary interaction, is a phenomenon that occurs when two nearby cyclonic vortices move around each other and close the distance between the circulations ...

with Typhoon Gloria. Shortly afterward Herb began to intensify again, and became a Category 5 super typhoon on July 30. Herb also became a very large typhoon: the largest typhoon in July and one of the largest typhoons since 1977. Herb struck the Ryūkyū Islands and made landfall in northern Taiwan as a Category 4 super typhoon on July 31. The eye of the storm passed directly over the capital,

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. Herb weakened as it crossed Taiwan and then the Taiwan Strait, to make landfall in China as a strong Category 2. Herb rapidly weakened over the country, and dissipated on August 3.

Impact

Ryūkyū Islands

Prior to the typhoon's arrival in the southern Ryūkyū Islands, officials issued storm warnings for most islands and canceled 76 flights. On July 31, the eye of Typhoon Herb passed roughly southwest of Iriomote Island. On the island, a barometric pressure of 927.1 mbar (hPa; 27.38 inHg) was measured. On

Yonaguni , one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, lying from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper. The island is administered as the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, O ...

, a maximum wind gust of was also measured. Widespread damage took place across the southern Ryūkyū Islands, with losses reaching ¥667 million (US$6.2 million). On

Ishigaki Island , also known as ''Ishigakijima'', is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group, behind Iriomote Island. It is located approximately south-west of Okinawa Hontō. It is within the ...

, one home was destroyed and eighteen others were damaged. Extensive losses to agriculture, fisheries, and forestry took place across the region as well. Losses on Ishigaki alone reached ¥630 million (US$5.9 million). In

Okinawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

, large swells up to flooded low-lying areas, leaving minor damage.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, heavy rain from Herb caused flooding and major damage. In Taiwan, at least 51 people were killed and 22 went missing. Herb is the fourth wettest known tropical cyclone to impact the country.

Mainland China

In China, the code name of the typhoon was "9608", and over 13,000 people were injured or killed, including 779 deaths. Total damage to agriculture and property totaled US$5 billion (1996 dollars).Chun-Chieh Wu and Ying-Hwa Kuo
Typhoons Affecting Taiwan: Current Understanding and Future Challenges.
Retrieved on 2008-12-01.

Notes

References

External links

JMA General Information
of Typhoon Herb (9609) from Digital Typhoon
JMA Best Track Data (Graphics)
of Typhoon Herb (9609)
JTWC Best Track Data
of Super Typhoon 10W (Herb)

of Super Typhoon 10W (Herb) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herb (1996) 1996 Pacific typhoon season Typhoons in Japan Typhoons in Taiwan Typhoons in China Typhoon Herb Typhoon Herb Typhoons