Tropical Storm Harriet was a rather weak but extremely deadly

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 ...

that hit

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

in October 1962. It formed in 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 ...

before making landfall in Southern Thailand and crossing the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

into the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. It caused extensive damage in Thailand, especially in the area of Laem Talumphuk, where it wiped out entire villages, caused over 900 fatalities and left over 10,000 people homeless, making it the deadliest storm in the history of Thailand.

Meteorological history

The system that would become Tropical Storm Harriet formed off the western coast of 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 ...

on the morning on the afternoon of October 19. The system proceeded northwest, then darted southwest off the coast, crossing through the

. The storm spent several days through the open ocean, unable to strengthen into a tropical depression. On October 23, the storm turned northward towards

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 ...

, but soon returned westward, slowly strengthening as it crossed the South China Sea. On the afternoon of October 25, the system finally strengthened into a tropical storm, receiving the name of Harriet. Winds peaked at for Harriet, which soon made landfall in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in Thailand on October 25. After crossing the country, Harriet weakened into a low on October 26 in the open waters of the Indian Ocean. The system continued westward, then curved to the northeast. It attained peak 1 minute winds of on October 30 while approaching the northeastern

. Soon after, the cyclone made landfall near

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

(present-day Bangladesh) before dissipating over

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(present-day

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

) on October 31.

Impact

Harriet caused extensive damage in the area of Laem Talumphuk in

Pak Phanang District Pak Phanang (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. The name of district means 'sheltered mouth', referring to the mouth of the Pak Phanang River protected from the open sea by a long peninsula. Hist ...

of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, where it wiped out entire villages. Initial reports noted at least 769 fatalities, with 142 missing as of November 4, and over 252 severe injuries. Damage at the time was estimated to be over $34.5 million (1962 USD) to government buildings, agriculture, homes and fishing fleets. The disaster left 16,170 people homeless and destroyed 22,296 buildings across the province. Final figures by the

Thai Meteorological Department The Thai Meteorological Department ( Abrv: TMD; Thai: กรมอุตุนิยมวิทยา, RTGS: ''Krom Utuniyom Witthaya'') is the Thai governmental agency responsible for weather forecasting and monitoring. It is an agency of t ...

record 935 deaths, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone in the country's history. The cyclone killed 50,000 people in what is now

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harriet (1962) 1962 Pacific typhoon season 1962 North Indian Ocean cyclone season Typhoons in Thailand 1962 in Thailand Tropical cyclones in Bangladesh 1962 in East Pakistan Tropical cyclones in Myanmar 1962 in Burma October 1962 in Asia

Meteorological history

Impact

See also

References