Super Typhoon Rita (Kading)
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Typhoon Rita, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Kading, was the most powerful
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
during the
1978 Pacific typhoon season The 1978 Pacific typhoon season was a very active season that produced 31 tropical storms, 16 typhoons and one intense typhoon. It ran year-round in 1978, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and ...
and one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record. A long-lived and destructive tropical cyclone, Rita began its journey east of the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...
and rapidly moved westwards, becoming a typhoon on October 20. Rita continued rapid intensification and attained super typhoon status and later an atmospheric pressure of on October 25. Rita struck the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
overnight on October 26 and entered the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
as a minimal typhoon. Rita caused extreme damage and more than 300 deaths.


Meteorological history

Rita originated from a tropical depression that originated east of the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...
, near the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...
, on October 17. It
rapidly intensified Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
while moving westward and became a typhoon on October 20, about south-southwest of
Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...
. Rita continued rapid intensification and became a Category 4-equivalent super typhoon on October 23. At 6:22 A.M., local time, on October 24, a
reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...
reported a minimum
pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
reading of and maximum surface winds of . Rita continued to move westward and late in the evening of the same day, Rita passed of Guam, where heavy damages to banana plantations were reported. Rita continued moving rapidly westward towards
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
at a speed of . Rita's central
pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
fell to a minimum of when it was about east of
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
at noon on October 25. Satellite pictures received later in the afternoon revealed a distinct
eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...
and good cirrus outflow associated with the circulation of Rita. During the following night, on October 26, Rita made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
over
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, causing disastrous damage and leaving 200,000 homeless.
Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are config ...
, located on the east coast of Luzon, reported gusts of when the storm passed just to the south of it.
Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
, located south of Baler, reported a minimum
sea-level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
pressure of . Rita entered the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
on October 27 and gradually accelerated in speed as it moved west-northwest towards
Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
. Its circulation remained intense with a large area of strong winds even though it weakened significantly after striking the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. A fishing boat called the ''San Jose II'' went aground on a reef about southwest of Manila during the evening of October 27. In
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, the Stand By Signal, No. 1, was hoisted at 11:45 A.M. on October 27, when Rita was situated about to the southeast. Since an intense surge of
winter monsoon Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate climate, temperate and Polar regions of Earth, polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring (season), spring. The Axial tilt#Earth, tilt of Earth's axis causes seas ...
was expected to reach the
Southern Chinese South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...
coast. The combinations of the effects of Rita and the monsoon were forecast to cause strong winds in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
overnight. The Strong Wind Signal, No. 3, was hoisted at 4:30 PM although Rita was still situated south-southwest of Hong Kong and was moving west-northwest at towards
Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
. At 5:00 A.M., Shangchuandao reported winds of with gusts of . Due to the influx of cold and dry air because the winter monsoon, the typhoon weakened rapidly and moved slowly southwestwards away from Hong Kong. during daytime on October 28. The system was closest to Hong Kong at 8:00 A.M. The central
pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
was estimated to be about . On October 29, satellites received unveiled that the system became disorganized and the center of the system ill-defined. The monsoon still caused gale-forced winds over the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
even though Rita had moved away from Hong Kong and weakened into a weak tropical storm. A cargo ship, the ''M.V. Toubkal'' went aground on the
Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as ''Panacot,'' (" Masinloc Shoal" in Spanish), Huangyan Island (Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock island), Minzhu Jiao ( Guoyu zh, c=民主礁, l=Democracy Reef), and Panatag Shoal () ...
, south-southeast of Hong Kong, and broke in two. Rita continued to weaken and degenerated into an area of
low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...
, off the coast of
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
, on October 29.


Preparations and impact

Before approaching the Philippines, flights to Guam were all canceled and U.S. Strategic Air Command evacuated all of its B-52 bombers to
Kadena Air Base (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA: DNA, International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: RODN) is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena, Okinawa, Kadena and Chatan, Okinawa, Chatan and the ...
in
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
and naval aircraft were sent to Cubi Point in the Philippines. While approaching the Philippines, authorities had all aircraft evacuated to
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
and
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
. All
international flight An international flight is a form of commercial flight within civil aviation where the Takeoff, departure and the arrival take place in different Country, countries. Regular international passenger air service began in August 1919 with a flight ...
s in and out of Manila Airport were canceled.
Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...
scrubbed all
domestic flight A domestic flight is a form of commercial flight within civil aviation where the departure and the arrival take place in the same country. Airports serving domestic flights only are known as domestic airports. Domestic flights are generally c ...
s and its airplanes were evacuated to the
Southern Philippines Mindanao ( ) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of the same name that also inc ...
. Schools and businesses in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
and most of northern Luzon were closed.


Guam

In
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, no major damage was reported even though there was crop damage that was not immediately determined. 2
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
personnel were killed and a third was injured while taking an antenna from a building during preparations from Rita. The antenna came in contact with a high-voltage wire. 7 people were injured, 4 seriously injured in a head-on auto collision. Investigators reported that the road was wet and that there were wind gusts at the time of the collision. A civilian suffered multiple injuries when he fell from the sixth floor of an apartment building where he was boarding up windows. His condition is not immediately known.


Philippines

There were no ''immediate'' reports of casualties or damage in northern Luzon. However, Luzon was pounded by Rita's violent wind gusts and extremely torrential rains. Widespread power outages in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
and Southern Luzon were reported when Rita passed north of the city, cutting off satellite communications links.
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
and national disaster officials reported that more than 4,000 people were moved to safer ground and evacuation continued. A youth was reported to be electrocuted by a falling wire near the capital and a Luzon couple was seriously injured when a tree fell on their house. Power lines in many provinces were toppled. Some areas experienced wind gusts as much as . Death toll from the storm was reported to have risen to more than 200 on October 31. A reported 354 other
Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...
were missing. The storm cut across rice-rich fields of the
Central Luzon Central Luzon (; ; ; ; ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga (with its capital, San Fernando City serving as the re ...
plains with winds. More than 50,000 homes were destroyed and displaced 291,610 families, a total of 1,444,465 people. Damage to infrastructure and agricultural crops was placed at more than $100 million (1979
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
) and about 750,000 acres of
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
was damaged.
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Ferdinand E. Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the country under ...
declared 5 provinces calamity zones. He later ordered the suspension of the exporting of rice as a result of the extensive damage. Some areas experienced flooding that was waist-deep. It was reported that a Red Cross team sent to check reported that a dam had overflown and drowned 30 villagers outside the town of
Norzagaray Norzagaray, officially the Municipality of Norzagaray (), is a municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 136,064 people. It is the location of Angat Dam which sits on the lower ...
. In the Norzagaray area, 18 people were reported dead and 24 others missing. In the
Angat Angat may refer to: * Angat, Bulacan, a first class partially urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines * Angat River The Angat River (also called Quingua River) is a river in the Philippines located in the province of Bulacan. ...
area, where the
Angat Dam Angat Dam () is a concrete water reservoir embankment hydroelectric dam in the Philippines that supplies Metro Manila and nearby provinces with water. It was a part of the Angat- Ipo- La Mesa water system. The reservoir supplies about 90 perce ...
is located, 6 people were dead and 20 were missing. U.S. Navy planes and helicopters saved 40 crewmen from a wrecked Moroccan ship that sunk in the South China Sea. The ship hit shoals northwest of Manila. It was blown there by the typhoon's powerful winds and high seas. The
flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
waters and the extremely powerful wind gusts of the storm caused 14,474 houses to be partly or seriously damaged; Manila reported gusts of up to . Super Typhoon Rita was the worst typhoon to strike the Philippines in 8 years since Super Typhoon Joan in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
.


See also

* * Typhoon Nora (1973) - Achieved a similar intensity while approaching the Philippines * Typhoon Tip (1979) - The most intense tropical cyclone on record *
Typhoon Haiyan (2013) Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that is among the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. Upon making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions ...
- Also had a relatively fast forward speed while approaching the Philippines, much stronger and deadlier landfall * Typhoon Mangkhut (2018) - Also maintained super typhoon intensity for a long time before striking Luzon


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rita (1978) Typhoons in the Philippines 1978 Pacific typhoon season Retired Philippine typhoon names