Typhoon Doug, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Ritang, was the only
Category 5 typhoon in the
1994 Pacific typhoon season. The 13th storm and the second super typhoon of the season, it formed on the eastern end of a
monsoon trough and developed into a
tropical depression on August 2. It moved west and rapidly strengthened. Doug reached a peak of and winds of before brushing the coast of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. Doug made landfall near
Shanghai, China as a weak tropical depression. Doug killed 26 people and caused $110 million (1994
USD) damage in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. Doug's effects reached
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
.
Meteorological history
A tropical disturbance west-northwest of Guam on the eastern end of a monsoon
trough was first noted and developed into a tropical depression on August 2. It further
intensified and became a tropical storm a few hours later, and the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) assigned the system the name
Doug. It moved westwards at and intensified, becoming a severe tropical storm on the evening of August 3. Doug further intensified and attained
typhoon status about 18 hours later. An
eye was becoming visible as Doug attained typhoon status. On August 6, Doug reached super typhoon intensity with maximum winds of and a minimum central
barometric pressure of .
Super Typhoon Doug tracked northwest over the next few days and brushed northern Taiwan early on August 8. In Taiwan 26 were killed and four were reported missing. Some 126 houses collapsed and 453 others were damaged. Electricity and water supplies to 100,000 people were cut off. Flood-related damages contributed to an estimate of more than 4 billion
New Taiwan dollars (1994 NT$). Super Typhoon Doug then took on a north to northeast track over the
East China Sea after sweeping across northern Taiwan and started to weaken. Doug weakened to a severe tropical storm on August 9 and was downgraded to a tropical storm further on August 10. Over the next couple of days, Doug made a clockwise loop over the Yellow Sea before making
landfall over
Shanghai on August 11. Doug became
extratropical later that day. The remnants of Doug dissipated on August 12.
Impact
Two satellite dishes fell in
Taipei
, nickname = The City of Azaleas
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country ...
as Doug brushed Taiwan with wind gusts of up to and heavy rains. The typhoon killed 10 people and injured 41 others as the storm caused
landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...
s that buried houses. Trees toppled and cars were swept off the road. Three people were missing and 300 were made homeless.
A
Korean Air (KAL)
Airbus A300,
KAL 2033 skidded off the runway and exploded after trying to land on the island of
Cheju, but all 160 aboard escaped without serious injury. The crew pushed the passengers down the escape chutes through the smoke and into the rain. The crash occurred shortly after 11 am when the pilot of flight 2033 from
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
to Cheju, made a second attempt to land on the seaside runway in extremely powerful winds of up to and heavy rains. The Cheju medical clinic treated seven passengers and one crew member for minor injuries.
In total, 26 people died and damage was estimated on Taiwan was placed at $110 million (1994 USD) in the wake of Super Typhoon Doug.
[ Joint Typhoon Warning Center]
Chapter 3: Summary of Western North Pacific and North Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclones.
Retrieved on 2008-11-15.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doug (1994)
1994 Pacific typhoon season