Typhoon Wilda (1964)

This article is about the 1964 typhoon. For other storms of the same name, see Typhoon Wilda.

Typhoon Wilda

Typhoon Wilda's surface analysis on September 21, 1964
Meteorological history
Formed	September 16, 1964
Dissipated	September 25, 1964
Unknown-strength storm
10-minute sustained (JMA)
Lowest pressure	895 hPa (mbar); 26.43 inHg
Category 5-equivalent super typhoon
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds	280 km/h (175 mph)
Overall effects
Fatalities	43
Damage	Unknown
Areas affected	Mariana Islands, Japan
IBTrACS
Part of the 1964 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Wilda was an intense typhoon that was tied for lowest central pressure of any typhoon in 1964, along with Typhoon Sally.[1] As the twenty-fourth named storm of the season, it origins can be traced back to when it was as a tropical storm east-southeast of Guam on September 16. Wilda moved northwestward for multiple days. it was identified as a tropical storm by Joint Typhoon Warning Center on September 19, strengthening into a typhoon that day. It reached its peak intensity over the Philippine Sea. Wilda slightly weakened following peak strength before curving northward and making landfall on September 24. The storm would eventually emerge into the Sea of Japan and curve northeast. Wilda made a final landfall on September 25 as a tropical storm, thereafter, departing Japan and quickly moving towards the central Aleutian Islands as a powerful extratropical cyclone, dissipating on September 27.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale

Map key

Saffir–Simpson scale

  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown

Storm type

Tropical cyclone

Subtropical cyclone

Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

According to data from the Japan Meteorological Agency, Wilda began as a tropical storm east-southeast of Guam on September 16, marked by a large mass of clouds and associated rainbands.[2][3]: 141  The system tracked northwest over the Northern Mariana Islands and into the Philippine Sea two days later.[2] The Joint Typhoon Warning Center recognized the storm as a tropical cyclone on September 19 when it was located roughly 370 km (230 mi) northwest of Saipan and assessed Wilda to have strengthened into a typhoon later that day.[4]: 77  An eye emerged on Nimbus satellite imagery on September 20,[3]: 159  and on September 21, Wilda reached its peak intensity over the Philippine Sea with one-minute maximum sustained winds of 280 km/h (170 mph) as estimated by the JTWC and a minimum central pressure of 895 hPa (mbar; 26.43 inHg).[2] Based on data from the JMA, this was tied for lowest central pressure of any typhoon in 1964, along with Typhoon Sally.[1] Wilda slightly weakened following peak strength before curving northward and making landfall on Kagoshima on September 24; one-minute sustained winds three hours prior to landfall were estimated to be 185 km/h (115 mph).[2] The storm passed over Shikoku and southern Honshu before emerging into the Sea of Japan and curving northeast. Wilda made a final landfall on the western coast of northern Honshu on September 25 as a tropical storm, thereafter, departing Japan and quickly moving towards the central Aleutian Islands as a powerful extratropical cyclone.[2][4]: 77  The storm was last identified on September 27.[2]

Preparations and impact

Wilda was one of the strongest typhoons to ever strike Japan as measured by atmospheric pressure, reaching Cape Sata in Kagoshima with a central pressure of 940 hPa (mbar; 27.76 inHg).[5] The typhoon caused 47 fatalities and 530 injuries in Japan. Over 70,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 45,000 were inundated by the typhoon across the country,[6] leaving thousands of people homeless.[7] The southern and eastern coasts of Kyushu, the southern coast of Shikoku, and Hyōgo Prefecture experienced the highest proportion of destroyed homes per capita.[8] At least 64 ships were sunk with another 192 damaged or lost.[9] Damage was widespread in the northern Ryukyu Islands.[4]: 77  Banana, sugar cane, and vegetable fields in Amami Ōshima were badly damaged, along with roofs and windows. Naze lost power during the storm. Wilda brought 6-meter (20-foot) waves to southern Kyushu.[10] One British freighter ran aground off Kagoshima and broke into two; all 41 crew were rescued.[11] The widespread flooding in the region overtopped dikes and disrupted air and rail traffic.[12] At Uwajima, Ehime, a peak wind gust of 259 km/h (161 mph) was observed;[8] this was the strongest wind recorded in connection with the Wilda in Japan.[13] An 8,547-ton Indonesian freighter with 53 crew ran aground and keeled over at the Port of Kobe.[14][15] Gale-force winds from Wilda reached the Tokyo area, damaging roofs at the Tokyo Olympic Village and uprooting trees two weeks before the start of the 1964 Summer Olympics.[16][17][18] A ship just south of Tokyo Bay reported winds of 76 km/h (47 mph).[4]: 77 

See also

• Typhoon Vera (1959) – an intense and deadly typhoon that was also known as the Isewan Typhoon.
• Typhoon Chaba (2004) – an intense typhoon that took a comparable track.
• Typhoon Songda (2004) – another intense typhoon that affected similar areas, not long after Chaba did.
• Typhoon Jebi (2018) – the costliest typhoon in Japan's history in terms of insured losses.
• Typhoon Krosa (2019) – a typhoon that took a nearly identical track.

References

1. Kitamoto, Asanobu. "Digital Typhoon: Record of Typhoon in 1964 Season". Digital Typhoon. National Institute of Informatics. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
2. "1964 Super Typhoon WILDA (1964261N12149)". IBTrACS - International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Asheville, North Carolina: University of North Carolina–Asheville. 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
3. Widger, William K. Jr.; Barnes, James C.; Merritt, Earl S.; Smith, Robert B. (January 1966). "Meteorological Interpretation of Nimbus High Resolution Infrared (HRIR) Data" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
4. "Climatological Data: National Summary (Annual 1964)" (PDF). Climatological Data. 15 (13). Asheville, North Carolina: United States Weather Bureau. 1965. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020 – via National Centers for Environmental Information.
5. "中心気圧が低い台風 (統計期間：1951年～2020年第3号まで)" (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Japan Meteorological Agency. 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
6. Kitamoto, Asanobu. "Digital Typhoon: Typhoon 196420 (WILDA) - Disaster Information". Digital Typhoon. National Institute of Informatics.
7. "Typhoon Wilda Sweeps Japan". Salinas Californian. No. 232. Salinas, California. United Press International. September 25, 1964. p. 5. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Yamamoto, Ryozaburo; Mitsuta, Yasuhi; Miyata, Kenji; Tahira, Makoto (March 1965). "Surface Winds of Typhoon Wilda (6420) Over Japan". Disaster Prevention Research Institute Annuals (in Japanese). 8. Kyoto, Japan: Disaster Prevention Research Institute: 593–604. hdl:2433/69194. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Kyoto University Research Information Repository.
9. "Heavy Toll in Japan From Typhoon Wilda". Waterloo Daily Courier. Waterloo, Iowa: Associated Press. September 25, 1964. p. 21. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Year's Worst Typhoon Lashes Japan Islands". The Honolulu Advertiser. No. 54527. Honolulu, Hawaii. United Press International. September 24, 1964. Retrieved September 26, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Typhoon Ruins Ship; Crew Of 41 Is Safe". The Sacramento Bee. Vol. 215, no. 34948. Sacramento, California. Associated Press. September 26, 1964. p. A4. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Typhoon Wilda Brings Death To Kyushu Island". Great Bend Daily Tribune. No. 38. Great Bend, Kansas. United Press International. September 24, 1964. p. 2. Retrieved September 26, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
13. 強風災害の発生と被害に関する統計 (PDF) (Report) (in Japanese). General Insurance Rating Organization of Japan. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
14. "Typhoon Tosses Freighter About". Fort Myers News-press. Associated Press. September 25, 1964. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Storm Capsizes Transport". The La Crosse Tribune. Vol. 60, no. 130. La Crosse, Wisconsin. United Press International. September 25, 1964. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Rodda, John (September 30, 1964). "Japan still has much to do". The Guardian. No. 36775. Manchester, United Kingdom. p. 6. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "25 Dead As Storm Hits Japan". The Miami Herald. No. 299. Miami, Florida. United Press International. September 25, 1964. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "36 Dead In Wake Of Japan Typhoon". The Honolulu Advertiser. No. 54529. Honolulu, Hawaii. United Press International. September 26, 1964. p. A-2. Retrieved November 9, 2020.