The 1881 Haiphong typhoon was a devastating

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

that struck

Haiphong Haiphong ( vi, Hải Phòng, ), or Hải Phòng, is a major industrial city and the third-largest in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta. Haiphong wa ...

, in northern Dai Nam (now

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

), and the northern part of the

Captaincy General of the Philippines The Captaincy General of the Philippines ( es, Capitanía General de Filipinas ; tl, Kapitaniya Heneral ng Pilipinas) was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire in Southeast Asia governed by a governor-general as a dependency of the ...

(now the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

) on October 8, 1881. The typhoon was first detected east of Southern Luzon on September 27, 1881. The typhoon killed about 23,000 people in total.

Meteorological history

While the storm's strength is uncertain (like many disasters prior to the 20th century), records show that the storm was first detected near the Philippines in late September and the system hit

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

on September 30. Once it was in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

, it is speculated the storm strengthened again as it entered the Gulf of Tonkin, passing very close to

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

before it hit the city of Haiphong. The storm then began to move northwards, before exiting China. The storm would go on to hit the Korean Peninsula, and then Japan.

Impacts

The typhoon first moved through the Philippines, causing heavy damage on Camarines, Tayabas, and Batangas. The city of Haiphong lies about 10 miles from the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin and also on the Red River in a low elevation area (delta), connected to an access channel. The town was founded seven years before the typhoon struck. Haiphong, being a low-lying port town, was devastated both physically and economically. Its geography only worsened the damage. With the high waves and winds, rice fields were flooded, buildings were decimated (and, as a result, people either were drowned or left stranded), trees were ripped up, etc. By the time the typhoon passed, most of the town was wiped out. Then, due to the inability to operate as a port town, Haiphong's economy also took impact. The typhoon killed about 3,000 people in Haiphong, Vietnam. There were erroneous reports that the typhoon was the third-deadliest tropical cyclone on record with a death toll of 300,000, but this was likely due to mixing the death toll with the damage total, as the city only had a population of 18,480 in 1897.Terry et al, 2012

Aftermath

Any typhoon like the 1881 Haiphong typhoon would be a rare occurrence because its path around

is what made it so strong by the time it hit Haiphong. Any typhoon like this has not happened again since 1881, but analyses predict that it may happen again. The Vietnamese government has also taken action in case of another severe typhoon hitting the area. Haiphong now has a flood defense system including dykes/levees (though not all of them are firm), a flood warning service provided by Vietnam's Meteorological Service, and evacuation plans. However, Haiphong still serves as a port (and a major one today), so any large storms will harm the economy.

Notes

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References

Pre-1940 Pacific typhoon seasons 1881 in Asia 1881 in the Philippines 1881 in Southeast Asia 1881 in Vietnam

1881 disasters in the Philippines 19th-century disasters in Vietnam Haiphong 1881 Haiphong

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The ...

September 1881 events October 1881 events 1881 meteorology

Meteorological history

Impacts

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References