Typhoon Ellen (1983)
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Typhoon Ellen, known in 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 ...
as Super Typhoon Herming, was considered the worst typhoon to hit China since
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. Typhoon Ellen was first noted as a tropical disturbance east of the
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on August 26, 1983, and became a tropical storm soon after crossing the dateline on the morning of August 29. Initially, strong
wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...
inhibited development over the next five days, and the cyclone began to track south of west. On September 2, conditions aloft finally improved and the cyclone strengthened into a typhoon on September 4 as it tracked west-northwest. Approaching
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 ...
late on September 5, Ellen intensified rapidly into a strong typhoon with winds of before interaction with Luzon began to weaken the cyclone. Its final landfall was at
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on the morning of September 9 as a minimal typhoon. The next day, Ellen ceased to exist. Despite passing north 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 ...
, the storm killed three and left 15 persons injured. Damage in the country totaled $680,000 (1983
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). While passing near
British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...
, 50,000 people lost electrical services. Around 200 homes were destroyed; a total 2,000 people lost their homes, 1,600 of whom sought shelter. Throughout the city, eight people perished and 339 were hurt, including 120 seriously. Ellen spawned the second tornado ever recorded in Hong Kong, and the first ever recorded during a typhoon. Elsewhere, in
Portuguese Macau Macau was under Portuguese Empire, Portuguese rule from the establishment of the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 until its Handover of Macau, handover to China in 1999. It comprised the Municipality of Macau and the Municipality of ...
, little damage was reported. Offshore, 40 crew members were rescued in a shipwreck. In a separate incident, eight people were lost at sea. Furthermore, ten Taiwan fishing boats capsized 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 ...
, resulting in 48 fishermen missing, though 103 persons also survived. Overall, damage totaled $79 million and 23 people died.


Meteorological history

Typhoon Ellen originated from a tropical disturbance located south-southwest of the
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on August 26. Based on the development of rainbands, satellite intensity estimates via the
Dvorak technique The Dvorak technique (developed between 1969 and 1984 by Vernon Dvorak) is a widely used system to estimate tropical cyclone intensity (which includes tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane/typhoon/intense tropical cyclone intensities ...
indicated winds of . The disturbance crossed the dateline two days later and a
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formi ...
(TCFA) was subsequently issued. At 0000 UTC on August 29, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) first classified the system. Initially, the storm did not develop significantly due to strong
wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...
caused by an intense high pressure area north of the cyclone. This also caused Ellen to turn west-southwest. On August 31, however, the
Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...
(JMA) started warning on the system, declaring it a tropical storm. The next day, the JTWC briefly downgraded the system into a tropical depression; however, the JMA held the storm's intensity to for several days. On September 2, the storm began to turn west-northwest and environmental conditions became much more favorable for development. The JMA upgraded Ellen into a severe tropical storm early the following morning. Later on September 3, the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) agency of the P ...
(PASAGA) started tracking the storm and assigned it with the local name ''Herming''. At 1200 UTC, the JTWC upgraded Ellen into a typhoon, though the JMA did not follow suit until early on September 4. After maintaining this intensity for 12 hours, Ellen deepened slightly that evening, though the JTWC suggests that the storm intensified into a Category 2 hurricane on the United States Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. By midday on September 5, data from both agencies indicated that Ellen developed winds while located west of
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 ...
. Thereafter, Ellen began to rapidly intensify and according to the JTWC, the pressure decreased by . At 0600 UTC on September 6, Ellen reached peak intensity, with the JMA estimating winds of and a pressure of . Meanwhile, the JTWC suggests that Ellen reached a peak intensity of and a slightly higher pressure of . Ellen's peak intensity was short-lived; Typhoon Ellen soon began to weaken steadily as it moved through the Luzon Straits while interacting with Luzon. After turning northwest, the JMA reported the winds had reduced to at 0000 UTC on September 7. At that time, the JTWC noted that Ellen's winds were equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane. However, the JMA suggests that the weakening trend leveled off late on September 7. The next day, PASAGA ceased monitoring the system as it was no longer a threat to the Philippines. According to the JMA, the system moved ashore near
Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...
at 0000 UTC on September 9 as an typhoon, though the JTWC estimates that the storm was a little weaker at landfall. Ellen dissipated rapidly overland, and the JTWC downgraded Ellen into a tropical depression 12 hours later. However, the JMA kept watching the system until 0600 UTC on September 10.


Preparations and impact

Due to the storm's threat to Hong Kong, a no. 10 hurricane signal was issued. Across Hong Kong, schools and government offices were ordered to be closed and 250 shelters were opened. In addition, most shops and restaurants as well as all financial markets were closed. Despite passing north 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 ...
, the storm killed three and 15 people sustained injuries. Damage in the country totaled $680,000. A total of 605 dwellings were damaged, excluding 105 that were destroyed. Upon making landfall in Hong Kong, winds gusted to at Stanley. Rainfall totaled at Hong Kong's Royal Observatory (RO or ROHK, now HKO). Twenty-two ships were wrecked, including a 21,000-ton freighter, forcing the rescue of all 40 crew members. A yacht ''Osprey'' carried nine people, eight of which were lost and presumed dead. Several minor collisions were reported between ships. Along the coastal province Guangdong in southern China, communications and public services were disrupted. Ferry services from Hong Kong to Macao were suspended. On September 8, ten Taiwan fishing boats capsized in the South China Sea; consequently, 48 fishermen were missing, though 103 persons survived and later took refuge at
Pratas Island Pratas Island,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also known as the Tungsha Islands or the Dongsha Islands (), is a coral island situated in the northern part of the South China Sea administered as part of Cijin District, K ...
,
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 ...
(ROC). In Hong Kong, 50,000 people lost power. About 200 houses were destroyed. More than 2,000 people were left homeless; 1,600 of the homeless sought emergency shelter. Flights to the Kai Tak Airport were cancelled as the airport was closed for 12 hours. Large areas of farmland were damaged. Throughout the city, eight people perished, including a girl that was crushed by a falling cabinet. Two sisters were killed via a landslide while a fireman died when trying to rescue someone. Additionally, 339 people were injured, including 120 seriously. Forty-five people were injured due to flying glass and failing objects. Typhoon Ellen also spawned the second tornado ever recorded in Hong Kong, and the first ever recorded during the passage of a typhoon. According to the HKO, Ellen was Hong Kong's worst typhoon since Typhoon Hope of 1979. In nearby Macao, minor property damage was reported and 15 people were initially rendered as missing. However, by October 13, 10 people remained missing and were then presumed dead. In all, damage totaled $79 million (1983 USD) and 20 people were killed due to Typhoon Ellen in mainland China.


See also

* Typhoon Ora (1972) * Typhoon Vicente - a typhoon in 2012, that rapidly intensified to a Cat. 4 typhoon before striking Guangdong, China. *
Typhoon Hato Typhoon Hato, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Isang, was a strong tropical cyclone that struck South China in late August 2017. The thirteenth named storm and the fourth typhoon of the 2017 Pacific typhoon season, Pacific typh ...
- a typhoon in 2017, had a similar track to Ellen. * Typhoon Mangkhut - a typhoon in 2018, that caused widespread damages over Hong Kong. * Typhoon Saola - a typhoon in 2023, that made its closest pass over Macau and Hong Kong.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellen (1983) Typhoons in China 1983 Pacific typhoon season 1983 in China Ellen