Typhoon Jane was a catastrophic and 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 left significant effects to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

during the

1950 Pacific typhoon season The 1950 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1950, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year whe ...

. It caused over 398 reported deaths and 141 to be missing, mainly due to the landslides and flooding. It also destroyed some battle and cargo ships. The sixth reported

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

of the season, Jane was first mentioned in weather maps as a tropical depression to the east 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 ...

. It quickly strengthened to a tropical storm as it moved to the northwest. It then curved to the northeast, reaching its peak intensity of 185 km/h (115 mph) before weakening and striking Minami in

Tokushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

on September 3 as a Category 2 typhoon. It quickly weakened, passing through the Awaji Island and

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

before becoming

extratropical Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

on the same day. The extratropical remnants of the system persisted until it was no longer tracked on September 7.

Meteorological history

Jane was first seen in weather maps as a tropical depression to the west of Hagatna, Guam on 06:00 UTC of August 29 by the China Meteorological Agency (CMA). Roughly six hours later, the agency upgraded the system to a tropical storm; however, the Fleet Weather Center didn't followed suit until 00:00 UTC of the next day. It slowly organized while moving to the northwest and on 18:00 UTC of August 31, the system intensified to a minimal typhoon. As it turned to the north, it strengthened to a Category 2 typhoon, roughly south of

. On 21:00 UTC of the next day, the CMA reported that Jane further intensified to a Category 3 typhoon as it started to curved to the north-northeast, following by the Fleet Center that upgraded the system on 06:00 UTC on September 2. It soon reached its peak intensity of about 185 km/h (115 mph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 940 mbar. On the same day, Jane started to weaken due to unfavorable conditions and on 00:00 UTC of September 3, it made landfall near Muroto in

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...

as a Category 2 typhoon. It quickly weakened, passing through the town of Hiwasa and near

before becoming

in the

on 09:00 UTC of September 4. It then moved near

Maizuru is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34,817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Prefectu ...

Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...

before hitting

Oshima Peninsula The Oshima Peninsula (渡島半島 ''Oshima-hantō'') is the southernmost part of Hokkaidō, the northernmost of the Japanese islands. Where the peninsula starts is open to interpretation. A more generous interpretation is to draw a line southea ...

, both experiencing gale-force winds before moving ashore in the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

on the same day. It then weakened as it passed to the south of

Magadan Oblast Magadan Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East, Far East region of the country, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Magadan ...

, before being absorbed by another system near the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

on September 6.

Preparations

The winds and large waves from Jane forced over 283,000 individuals over Miyazaki,

Miyakonojō is a city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 158,235 in 72394 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the largest city in the prefecture in t ...

and

Nobeoka 270px, Central Nobeoka City is a city located in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,367 in 51272 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the city is . ...

to evacuate. Some houses were prepared for strong winds,

sandbags A sandbag or dirtbag is a bag or sack made of hessian (burlap), polypropylene or other sturdy materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification in trenches and bunkers, shielding gl ...

were placed on river embankments and many schools in western portion of the country were ordered to close. Refugee and disaster places were ordered for the evacuees. Coast guards also warned marine ships and fish boats to dock to ports and all police stations in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

were advised to ready for possible rescue operations.

Impact

The effects of Jane were greater due to strong winds and its generated precipitation. It was also regarded as the worst typhoon to affect

in sixteen years. The

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

and

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan and is located within the Kansai region. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. The peninsula has long been a sacred place in Buddhism, Shinto, and Shugendo, and many people wou ...

were bled by a 35 mph wind speed, while the maximum instantaneous wind speed recorded by the Kobe Marine Meteorological Observatory were 40 mph but due to damaged measuring instruments, the wind speeds may be higher. Strong winds also downed power lines throughout the western part of the country. In

Osaka Bay Osaka Bay (大阪湾 ''Ōsaka-wan'' ) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. I ...

, strong typhoons caused storm surges, causing over 700 ships damaged and many houses flooded. Over 12,000 houses were completely destroyed and many were flooded. Jane also destroyed the 700-year old Tahuto Pagoda in

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: * Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan * Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama * Wakayama University, a national university in Wakayama, ...

. In total, over 398 people were killed, mainly due to unexpected floods and enormous landslides, while another 131 individuals were reported to be missing, all due to the storm. Over 26,000 individuals were injured, in the other hand. The largest loss in marine ships was the damages attained by the Tatsuharu Maru, which was scheduled to leave the country to its destination to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, when it was destroyed by the storm surges and strong winds from the typhoon.

Aftermath and retirement

On September 6, the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

dispatched its cabinet ministers to assess damages from Jane. At a conference, these ministers agreed to release ¥65,600,000 for the typhoon-stricken areas, like

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

. An agency donated kids and adult clothes, being enough for 92,500 persons. After the season, the name ''Jane'' was decommissioned by the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology an ...

due to its destructive effects to the country. It was replaced with the name ''June'' for subsequent seasons.

References

External links