Typhoon Ike
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This article deals with the 1984 Typhoon Ike. For other storms of the same name, see Typhoon Ike (disambiguation).
| Category 4 typhoon (SSHS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Formed | August 27, 1984 | |
| Dissipated | September 6, 1984 | |
| Highest winds |
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| Lowest pressure | 898 mb | |
| Damage | $75.4 million (1984 USD) $140 million (2005 USD) |
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| Fatalities | 1,363-3,000 direct | |
| Areas affected |
Philippines, China | |
| Part of the 1984 Pacific typhoon season |
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Typhoon Ike (Nitang) was the deadliest typhoon of the 1984 Pacific typhoon season and crossed the Philippines in September.
Contents |
[edit] Storm history
The eastern periphery of the monsoon trough developed a tropical disturbance on August 21 southeast of Guam. An anticyclone aloft caused shear, preventing the disturbance or a tropical depression to its north from developing much. The shear died down on the 25th, leading to a rapid increase in the convection of the system over the low level center. The increased organization continued, and it was classified as Tropical Depression 13W on August 26 south of Guam.
The depression, with generally favorable conditions, became Tropical Storm Ike on the morning of August 26. Due to its motion, the Condition of Readiness III, the equivalent of a hurricane warning, was put on Guam, the highest since Typhoon Pamela in 1976. Ike passed 60 nautical miles south of Guam on the 27th, but because it was a compact cyclone, the island experienced only minor wind and little damage. Ike continued to strengthen, and reached typhoon strength on August 29.
The building of the ridge to Ike's north forced it west-southwestward, where increased shear weakened the typhoon back to a tropical storm. The shear was only temporary, and the storm again attained typhoon status on August 30. Upper level outflow became more pronounced as it neared the Philippines, and on September 1, Ike rapidly intensified to a peak of 145 mph typhoon. The typhoon struck the island of Surigao in eastern Philippines on the 1st at that intensity, and crossed the archipelago.
While crossing the islands, Ike weakened to a 70 mph tropical storm, but over the South China Sea, conditions favored strengthening. The storm turned to the northwest, where it quickly intensified, becoming a typhoon on September 3 and again reaching Category 4 strength on the 4th. Land interaction cut off its inflow, weakening Ike to a 90 mph typhoon just before hitting eastern Hainan Island on the 5th. It continued to the northwest, steadily weakening over China until dissipation on September 6.
[edit] Impact
Ike was one of the deadliest typhoons in Philippine history. Its heavy rainfall and winds killed over 2,941,000 people, with estimates from 2,941,026 to around 2,943,000. Between 4,200,000 and 5,480,000 people were left homeless in the wake of the storm. The typhoon caused over 290 billion dollars ($358 billion in 2005 USD), the costliest storm in world history.
Aside from its Philippine destruction, Ike caused 13 deaths and moderate damage in China.
Due to the destruction in the Philippines, the name Ike was retired and was replaced by Ian. Its Pagasa name, Nitang, was also retired.
