Typhoon Faith, 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 Typhoon Norming, struck both the Philippines and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
during December 1998. A tropical disturbance developed within the vicinity of the western
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...
during early December. At midday on December 8, the system developed into a tropical depression. Tracking northwest at a brisk pace, the depression gradually intensified, and was upgraded into a tropical storm at noon on December 9. Quickly intensifying, Faith turned to the west-northwest, and after tracking near
Samar Island
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
on the evening of December 10, Faith attained typhoon intensity. After clipping the northern tip of
Palawan Island
Palawan () is the largest island of the province of Palawan in the Philippines and fifth-largest by area and tenth-most populous island of the country, with a total population of 994,101 as of 2020 census. The northwest coast of the island is a ...
, the typhoon 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 ...
at peak intensity. Across the Philippines, 33 people were killed, with 30 others wounded and 36 others listed missing. A total of 6,423 homes were damaged and 3,234 houses were destroyed, leaving more than 20,000 homeless. Damage was estimated at $25.9 million, with $6.82 million from crops, $15.9 million from public infrastructure, and $3.37 million from private infrastructure.
The typhoon tracked westward before tracking west-southwest, only to decelerate to the west-northwest. Increased
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 ...
took toll on the storm and caused a weakening trend. On December 12, Faith lost typhoon intensity, and two days later, Faith weakened into a tropical depression. After striking
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, the depression rapidly dissipated over land. At least 38 people were killed in
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
with over 10,000 evacuated due to flooding in low-lying areas. Damage in Vietnam exceeded $20 million.
Meteorological history
On December 8, 1998, the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
(JTWC) issued 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 ...
for a tropical disturbance located within the vicinity of the western
Caroline Islands.
At 06:00 UTC, the JTWC upgraded the system, which was located east-southeast of
Palau
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
, into a tropical depression,
with the JMA following suit six hours later.
Initially, the depression moved fairly quickly on a northwesterly course in response to a weak
trough
Trough may refer to:
In science
* Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench
* Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure
* Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave
* Trough level (medicine), the l ...
to its north,
while also slowly strengthening and passing about north of
Palau
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
.
At 00:00 UTC on December 9, the
(PAGASA) began to track the storm and
assigned it with the local name ''Norming''.
At noon, PAGASA
and the JMA upgraded the depression to a tropical storm,
and six hours later, the JTWC followed suit.
After crossing the
10th parallel north
Following are circles of latitude between the 15th parallel north and the 20th parallel north:
6th parallel north
The 6th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 6 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Ind ...
, Faith turned towards the west-northwest, and by December 10, the storm entered a period of
rapid intensification
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 ...
.
The JMA upgraded Faith into a
severe tropical storm early on December 10,
and twelve hours later, the JTWC classified Faith, just offshore
Samar Island
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
, as a typhoon.
The typhoon then tracked across the islands of
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
and
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...
, and next clipped the northern tip of
Palawan Island
Palawan () is the largest island of the province of Palawan in the Philippines and fifth-largest by area and tenth-most populous island of the country, with a total population of 994,101 as of 2020 census. The northwest coast of the island is a ...
before entering 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 ...
.
At 18:00 UTC, the JMA upgraded Faith into a typhoon, while also estimating that it attained its peak intensity of and a minimum barometric pressure of .
After clearing the Philippines, Typhoon Faith tracked westward
and briefly moved west-southwest. On the evening of December 11, the JTWC increased the intensity to , its peak
wind speed
In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer.
Wind spe ...
. While maintaining peak intensity,
Typhoon Faith slowly decelerated while tracking on a west-northwesterly course as it approached the Vietnamese coast due to the effects of another mid-latitude trough, which eroded the
subtropical ridge
The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges or highs. It is a high-pressur ...
to its north. As a result of this pattern change, Faith began to encounter increased
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 ...
, which triggered a weakening trend,
and at 00:00 UTC on December 12, the JMA downgraded Faith into a severe tropical storm.
At 00:00 UTC on December 14, Faith 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 ...
in Vietnam just north of
Nha Trang
Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city had ...
.
At the time of landfall, the JTWC estimated winds of
while the JMA determined that Faith had weakened to a tropical depression.
Once inland, the storm began to quickly dissipate;
the JMA ceased tracking the system at noon the same day.
Preparations and impact
Philippines
In advance of the typhoon, authorities issued a
No. 3 storm signal,
[ ] even though only a No. 1 storm signal was issued for
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 ...
.
On December 13, all classes in Manila were suspended.
[ ] Sixteen
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 ...
flights to and from the central Philippines were cancelled.
[ ] In the capital city of Manila, heavy rains caused street flooding.
Several villages on Samar island were flooded.
Around 400 people combined in the
Catanduanes
Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes (), is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the M ...
and
Aklan
Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital and largest town is Kalibo. The province is situated in the northwest portion of Panay, Panay Islan ...
provinces were evacuated to shelter due to rising floodwaters. A grocery store in
Ibajay
Ibajay, officially known as the Municipality of Ibajay ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Ibajay''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Ibajay''; ), is a municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. During the creation of Aklan Province in 1956, Ibajay was its ...
collapsed due to high winds. Toppled posts and downed trees clogged highways in the province of
Sorsogon
Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon ( Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in the island of Luzon and ...
.
Two bodies were recovered off
Dumaguete
Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...
.
[ ] Offshore, the
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...
rescued 100 people from a ferry traveling from the Philippines to Malaysia.
A boat sunk offshore
Zamboanga City
Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (; ; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Bagbenwa Sembwangan''; Sama–Bajaw languages, Sama: ''Lungsud Samboangan''; ; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city i ...
; all 10 of its crew were rescued to safety.
Off of
Pilas Island, four people were rescued and eleven were missing when the boat ''Myra-1'' sank in heavy seas.
[ ] Seventeen passengers were rescued, fourteen people were rendered missing, and two bodies were recovered when high waves toppled the motor vessel ''Lion No. 3''.
[ ]
Overall, 33 people were killed, with 30 others wounded and 36 others listed missing.
A total of 6,423 homes were damaged and 3,234 houses were destroyed,
leaving more than 20,000 homeless.
Damage was estimated at $25.9 million, with $6.82 million from crops, $15.9 million from public infrastructure, and $3.37 million from private infrastructure.
The storm affected 17 provinces, and 135 evacuation centers were opened.
Following the storm, Philippines President
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...
pledged emergency funding for four provinces struck by the typhoon, along with a series of wintertime rainstorms.
Vietnam
Faith was the second tropical cyclone to affect Vietnam that month, following
Tropical Storm Dawn. Twenty-one people were killed in
Khanh Hoa Province and
Binh Dinh Province, including five in
Da Nang
Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...
.
[ ] Nationwide, at least 38 people were killed in Vietnam with over 10,000 evacuated due to flooding in low-lying areas. Damage in Vietnam exceeded $20 million.
A total of 602 homes were destroyed, another 16,327 were damaged, and of rice fields were inundated.
See also
*
Typhoon Nancy (1982)
Notes
References
External links
*
{{1998 Pacific typhoon season buttons
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