Severe Tropical Storm Sam, also known in 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 ...

as Tropical Storm Luding, was a relatively strong storm that formed in August 1999. It brought severe impacts to the

and southeastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, causing 20 deaths.

Meteorological history

On August 17, an area of circulation within the monsoon trough located in the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...

became more organized and the

JTWC 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 ...

issued a TCFA. The developing cyclone slowly moved to the northwest, becoming Tropical Depression 16W nine hours after the TCFA was first issued. As the cyclone continued to intensify, it was named ''Sam'' on August 19. Around this time, the

subtropical ridge The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as Subtropics, subtropical ridges, or highs. It is a h ...

to Sam's north shifted its track in a westwards direction towards

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 ...

. The storm passed over the north of the island on August 20 and 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 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 Phil ...

, reaching typhoon strength the next day. Sam gradually intensified further as it approached the Chinese coast and it made landfall about to the northeast of Hong Kong at its peak with 140 km/h (85 mph) winds on August 22. Sam continued to move to the northwest over China dissipating about 24 hours later.

PAGASA Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae * PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal José Prot ...

named the developing storm ''Luding'' shortly before the JTWC began to issue advisories.

Impact

Typhoon Sam was responsible for seven deaths in the Philippines. In addition, flooding from its rainfall displaced over 4000 people, and many major roads were closed due to landslides near

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

. Sam became the wettest tropical cyclone to affect Hong Kong since records began in 1884, dropping over 616 mm (24.2 inches) of rain, exceeding the previous record set in 1926. Peak sustained winds of 96 km/h (60 mph) were recorded on

Waglan Island Waglan Island is a member of the Po Toi group of islands in Hong Kong. It hosts a ground of meteorological observation and recording. Waglan lighthouse The Waglan Lighthouse on Waglan Island has been listed as a declared monument of Hong Ko ...

as the typhoon passed over the territory. The heavy rain led to many instances of flooding and over 150 landslides throughout Hong Kong, killing 1 person and forcing the evacuation of about 1,000. A total of 328 people were injured in various incidents relating to the storm, and total losses in Hong Kong totaled to approximately $17 million. In addition to the direct casualties from the storm,

China Airlines Flight 642 China Airlines Flight 642 was a flight that crashed at Hong Kong (Chep Lap Kok) International Airport on 22 August 1999. It was operating from Bangkok (Bangkok International Airport, now renamed Don Mueang International Airport) to Taipei with a ...

, using an

MD-11 The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986. Assembly of t ...

aircraft, crashed while attempting to land at

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...

, killing three on board and injuring 219. At the time of the crash wind gusts in excess of 65 km/h (40 mph) were recorded at the airport. After moving into China, Sam killed at least 17 and injured 100 people in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. Direct economic losses in the province were about $18 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam (1999) Sam Typhoons in Hong Kong 1999 in Hong Kong

Meteorological history

Impact

See also

References