Typhoon Lee (1981)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Typhoon Lee, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Dinang, was the second storm to affect the Philippines during December 1981. Lee originated from an area of thunderstorm activity near the Truk Atoll towards the end of December. Following an increase in organization, the system was classified as a
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 ...
on December 22. After becoming a tropical storm, Lee began to slowly strengthen, and attained typhoon status on December 24. While turning west towards the Philippines, Lee began to intensify more rapidly. It is estimated to have reached peak intensity the next day, with winds of . At peak intensity, the storm moved ashore the central Philippines later on December 25. Lee emerged into 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 ...
the following day as a tropical storm. Initially, the storm maintained its intensity, but soon began to weaken due to 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 ...
. By December 28, all of the thunderstorm activity was removed from the center, and on December 29, Lee dissipated. However, the remnants of the cyclone was last noted a few hundred kilometers south of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. Across the Philippines, Typhoon Lee killed 188 people. In addition, 674,619 people were directly affected by the typhoon. Furthermore, 76,169 dwellings were demolished while 39,586 families, or 208,336 people, were rendered as homeless. A total of 53,314 houses were partially damaged. Also, 548,525 people sought refuge in shelters. Additionally, 1,586 individuals were injured due to Lee. Overall, damage totaled to $74.1 million (1981 
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
), $46.4 million of which was from infrastructure and an additional $2.2 million came from agriculture. The island 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 ...
sustained the worst damage caused by the storm. There, 82 fatalities were reported and 56 were injured. A total of 19,390 people were displaced; roughly 8,000 families or 48,000 people was forced to move to evacuation centers. Elsewhere, in the coastal town of
Calapan Calapan, officially the City of Calapan (), is a component city and the capital of the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 145,786 people making it the most populous in Oriental Mi ...
, 5,600 dwellings received damage, and 85% of the coastal town's residents were displaced from their homes.


Meteorological history

On December 21, 1981, an area of
convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...
began to organize west of the Truk Atoll. Despite strong wind shear,
Hurricane Hunter Hurricane hunters, typhoon hunters, or cyclone hunters are aircrews that fly into tropical cyclones to gather weather data. In the United States, the organizations that fly these missions are the United States Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather ...
aircraft data yielded winds of near-
gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .
force and a
barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013.2 ...
of the next day. Initially, the aircraft did not find any evidence of a closed low-level circulation. At 1000 
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
on December 22, 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 ...
(TCFA) for the system. Two hours later, the JTWC upgraded the disturbance into Tropical Depression 29 following the discovery of a closed surface circulation by Hurricane Hunters. By that evening, thunderstorm activity had become more concentrated towards the center; as such, 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) first classified the system as a
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 ...
. Following a further increase in organization, both the JMA and JTWC upgraded the cyclone into Tropical Storm Lee early on December 23. Meanwhile, 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 ...
(PAGASA) also monitored the storm and assigned it with the local name ''Dinang''. Initially, Lee veered west-northwest due to a mid-latitude
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 ...
exiting off the Asia mainland. At 0600 UTC on December 23, the JTWC classified Lee as a typhoon. At 0000 UTC on December 24, the JMA upgraded Lee into a severe tropical storm. Six hours later, the agency classified Lee as a
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 ...
. Around this time, the JTWC predicted that Lee would turn north after entering the South China Sea due to the influence of an
extratropical cyclone 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 ...
. However, as the storm turned west because the trough had moved away, the JTWC kept prolonging the northward turn. Moving in the general direction of the Philippines, Lee began to rapidly intensify. At 0600 UTC on December 25, the JTWC reported winds of , equivalent to a high-end Category 2 hurricane on the United States-based Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. According to the JTWC, this would be the storm's peak intensity. Meanwhile, the JMA estimated peak intensity of and a minimum pressure of . That afternoon, the typhoon 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 ...
along the central portion of the Philippines. After landfall, rapid weakening occurred, and when the storm 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 ...
on December 26, the JTWC reduced the winds of Lee to . Despite this, data from the JMA suggests that system was stronger, with winds of . Based on additional reports from Hurricane Hunters, the JTWC revised its forecast and now anticipated the tropical cyclone to move on a westerly course and strike central
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 ...
. Moving into an area of decreased monsoonal flow, Lee maintained its intensity for 18 hours.
Satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...
showed a banding-type
eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...
. However, by December 27, Lee began to feel the effects of an extratropical cyclone located to the north of the storm; consequently, Lee began to make a gradual turn towards the northwest. Lee began to encounter increased vertical wind shear, and early on December 27, the JMA lowered the intensity of Lee to . Later that day, a Hurricane Hunter investigation recorded a pressure of as the storm began to turn towards the north, exiting PAGASA's warning zone. By 0000 UTC on December 28, all of the deep convection was displaced from the center. Six hours later, the JMA estimated that Lee weakened to winds below tropical storm force. By midday, satellite imagery suggested that Lee was no longer a tropical cyclone; however, the JTWC continued to issue warnings on the system until 0000 UTC on December 29. At 1800 UTC, the JMA stopped watching the system. The remnants of Lee were last noted by the JTWC roughly south of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
.


Preparations and impact

Prior to landfall, twelve provinces, including some in
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 ...
, were placed on typhoon alert. Upon moving through the central Philippines, Typhoon Lee affected some of the same areas devastated by Typhoon Irma earlier that month, which was considered the strongest storm to affect the island since 1970. Lee knocked out communications and left many coconut-producing areas isolated. Railway services to and from Manila was suspended. Even though nine domestic flights were canceled,
Manila International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...
remained open throughout the passage of the typhoon. Across
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 ...
, some flooding was reported and high winds tore off some Christmas decorations in hotels along the bay. The Sorsogon Province was one of the hardest hit areas by the typhoon; 20 casualties happened there because of flooding. In the coastal region of Legaspi, home to a large volcano, 150 houses were demolished due to
storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...
, 25 of which were swept out at sea. Telephone lines were also cut off for four days in the city.
Storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...
was also noted in coastal towns in the Sorsogon,
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
Albay Albay (IPA: ), officially the Province of Albay (; ; Baybayin, ᜎᜎᜏᜒᜄᜈ᜔ ᜈᜅ᜔ ᜀᜎ᜔ᜊᜌ᜔), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Bicol Region of the Philippines, mostly on the southeastern part of the isla ...
provinces. In the latter, three villages were damaged. Just south of the capital city of Manila, in the coastal town of
Calapan Calapan, officially the City of Calapan (), is a component city and the capital of the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 145,786 people making it the most populous in Oriental Mi ...
on
Mindoro Island Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous List of islands of the Philippines, island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is lo ...
, 5,600 houses were damaged, and 20,000 persons or 85% of the town's residents were left without a home. Two fatalities were reported in the city. In the fishing village of San Fernando on
Masbate Island Masbate Island is the largest of three major islands of Masbate Province in the Philippines. The other two major islands are Ticao Island and Burias Island. It is the 11th-largest island in both area and population in the Philippines and the w ...
, 50 thatched huts were flattened. Elsewhere, four people were killed and three others injured in Naujan, where 86 homes were either damaged or destroyed. According to officials, 82 people were killed on the island 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 ...
. Throughout the island, the system destroyed schools, residences, an airport terminal, the government house in Catarman, and a jail, enabling 11 prisoners to escape. Most of damage to Samar was caused by collapsing houses and uprooted coconut trees hurled by the gusty winds. A total of 19,390 people were displaced; roughly 8,000 families or 48,000 people of which were forced to move to evacuation centers. An additional 56 people were hurt province-wide. Ten homes were washed away along a coastal village in the Marinduque Province. One person also perished due to electrocution outside of Naga City. One hundred eighty-eight people were killed, primarily due to drownings. Another 674,619 people were directly affected by the typhoon. A total of 76,169 dwellings were demolished, and 39,586 families, or 208,336 people, were displaced. This total included approximately 6,000 people in the provinces of
Romblon Romblon (, , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provi ...
,
Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...
, and Albay. Overall, a total of 53,314 homes were partially damaged. Moreover, 548,525 people sought refuge in shelters. Additionally, 1,586 persons were injured due to Lee. Overall, damage totaled to $74.1 million, including $46.4 million from infrastructure and $2.2 million from agriculture. Damage was estimated at $44 million in Samar.


Aftermath

Within a few days after the passage of Typhoon Lee, relief agencies were deployed to distribute food and medicines to families temporarily housed in schools, town halls and churches.
Philippine President The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...
Ferdinand E. Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the country under ...
declared an emergency and a "state of calamity" in the provinces of
Northern Samar Northern Samar (; ), officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman, the most populous town in the province and is located at the northern portion of ...
, Masbate, Mindoro Oriental, and
Romblon Romblon (, , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provi ...
. He subsequently released $1.8 million in order to repair roads, bridges and schools. Several evacuation centers were opened up in schools and town halls.


See also

* List of storms named Lee * Typhoon Irma (1981) * Typhoon Nock-ten (2016)


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee (1982) 1981 Pacific typhoon season Typhoons in the Philippines 1981 disasters in the Philippines
Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...