Typhoon Doug, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ritang, was the only
Category 5 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 ...
in the
1994 Pacific typhoon season
The 1994 Pacific typhoon season was an extremely active season in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Western North Pacific, with a total of 32 tropical storms, where 19 of them reached typhoon strength, during the course of the ...
. The 13th storm and the second super typhoon of the season, it formed on the eastern end of a
monsoon trough
The monsoon trough is a portion of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the Western Pacific,Bin WangThe Asian Monsoon.Retrieved 2008-05-03. as depicted by a line on a weather map showing the locations of minimum sea level pressure, and as such, ...
and developed into a
tropical depression
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
on August 2. It moved west and rapidly strengthened. Doug reached a peak of and winds of before brushing the coast of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. Doug made landfall near
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, China as a weak tropical depression. Doug killed 26 people and caused $110 million (1994
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
) damage in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. Doug's effects reached
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
.
Meteorological history
A tropical disturbance west-northwest of Guam on the eastern end of a monsoon
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 ...
was first noted and developed into a tropical depression on August 2. It further
intensified and became a tropical storm a few hours later, and 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) assigned the system the name
Doug. It moved westwards at and intensified, becoming a severe tropical storm on the evening of August 3. Doug further intensified and attained
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 ...
status about 18 hours later. An
eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
was becoming visible as Doug attained typhoon status. On August 6, Doug reached super typhoon intensity with maximum winds of and a minimum central
barometric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as 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 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
of .
Super Typhoon Doug tracked northwest over the next few days and brushed northern Taiwan early on August 8. In Taiwan 26 were killed and four were reported missing. Some 126 houses collapsed and 453 others were damaged. Electricity and water supplies to 100,000 people were cut off. Flood-related damages contributed to an estimate of more than 4 billion
New Taiwan dollars
The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...
(1994 NT$). Super Typhoon Doug then took on a north to northeast track over the
East China Sea
The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
after sweeping across northern Taiwan and started to weaken. Doug weakened to a severe tropical storm on August 9 and was downgraded to a tropical storm further on August 10. Over the next couple of days, Doug made a clockwise loop over the Yellow Sea before making
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 ...
over
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
on August 11. Doug became
extratropical
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 ...
later that day. The remnants of Doug dissipated on August 12.
Impact
Two satellite dishes fell in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
as Doug brushed Taiwan with wind gusts of up to and heavy rains. The typhoon killed 10 people and injured 41 others as the storm caused
landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s that buried houses. Trees toppled and cars were swept off the road. Three people were missing and 300 were made homeless.
![불타는 KAL 여객기](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/%EB%B6%88%ED%83%80%EB%8A%94_KAL_%EC%97%AC%EA%B0%9D%EA%B8%B0.png)
A
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
(KAL)
Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus.
In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner.
West G ...
,
KAL 2033 skidded off the runway and exploded after trying to land on the island of
Cheju, but all 160 aboard escaped without serious injury. The crew pushed the passengers down the escape chutes through the smoke and into the rain. The crash occurred shortly after 11 am when the pilot of flight 2033 from
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
to Cheju, made a second attempt to land on the seaside runway in extremely powerful winds of up to and heavy rains. The Cheju medical clinic treated seven passengers and one crew member for minor injuries.
In total, 26 people died and damage was estimated on Taiwan was placed at $110 million (1994 USD) in the wake of Super Typhoon Doug.
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 ...
Chapter 3: Summary of Western North Pacific and North Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclones.
Retrieved on 2008-11-15.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doug (1994)
1994 Pacific typhoon season