THE TEN WORST TYPHOONS OF THE PHILIPPINES
(1947-2002)
This summary is based on news, weather reports and storm logs, NDCC publications, historical archives and
personal accounts. Individual tracks are courtesy of Unisys.com. Satellite Images courtesy of Karl Hoarau,
NPMOC/Joint Typhoon Warning Center (taken from the 1970, 1984, 1991 and 1993 ATCRs) and NOAA.
Tropical Storm “URING” (Thelma)
November 2-7, 1991
95 kph
5,101 – 8,000 + deaths
P 1.045 B damage
Track: Maydolong, Eastern Samar; Tacloban City and Ormoc City, Leyte; Northern Cebu,
Northern Negros Occidental specifically Escalante, Murcia, Bacolod City, Bago City and
Pulupandan; Southern tip of Guimaras; just south of Cuyo Is.; Roxas in Northern Palawan.
URING was a weak tropical storm (see figures 1 & 2) that moved quickly through Samar,
Leyte, Cebu and Negros. But because of the heavy precipitation, rivers swelled and landslides
came down in a deluge in the mid-morning of November 5 at the upper areas of Ormoc City in
Leyte. The river bisecting the city burst its banks and overflowed, drowning the whole city in
more than 10 feet of water laden with mud and debris. Thousands were caught flatfooted and
perished. The storm then moved over Northern Cebu flooding more towns and cities.
When URING arrived at Northern Negros by early afternoon, it dumped heavy rain
flooding Northern Negros, wiping out houses from their foundations along rivers in Bacolod City
and Victorias while leaving others marooned in the fast rising waters of the rivers. A section of a
historic bridge across Bago River was swept by raging torrents. Late that night URING unleashed
landslides in the mountainous southern town of San Joaquin in Iloilo Province and as far as
Calinog in Central Iloilo where large rivers destroyed bridges spanning across them, cutting off
some towns from their neighbors for a few days. Almost lunchtime of November 6, the storm
crossed Northern Palawan through Roxas. The storm further weakened as it exited to the South
China Sea at early evening.
Ormoc City and Northern Negros Occidental were scenes of devastation as the floods
receded. Almost a quarter of Ormoc’s population drowned and their bloated bodies were littered
everywhere in the city while other fatalities were numerously floating at Ormoc Bay and Camotes
Sea being feasted by sharks and other fishes. Many journalists and eyewitnesses described Ormoc
City as…
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“…a scene from the Holocaust where dead bodies were stacked upon each other like logs
or garbage”.
Even those watching from television footages could not help but gag, retch, get mistyeyed or even weep quietly for everything was…” truly sickening with the stench of death
everywhere.”
Due to the overwhelming number of dead bodies everywhere, there was a shortage of
coffins, so authorities opted to collect the dead through dump trucks and buried in mass graves. It
was considered the deadliest natural disaster of the country.
Fig. 1. Track of Tropical Storm URING
Fig. 2. A scanned satellite photo of URING.
Super Typhoon “ROSING” (Angela)
October 30-November 4, 1995
260 kph
936 deaths
P 10.829 B damage
Track: Northern tip of Catanduanes; Siruma and Quinabucasan Point, Northern coastal areas of
Camarines Sur; Daet and the rest of the Northern coast of Camarines Norte; Mauban, Quezon;
Santa Cruz and the southern shore towns of Laguna Lake, Laguna; southern portions of National
Capital Region including Cavite City; Southern tip of Bataan specifically Mariveles incl.
Corregidor Is.
ROSING was one of the strongest typhoons in the Philippines to hit land with gusts
reaching up to 275 kph as it approached the Bicol Region at late evening of All Saint’s Day (see
figures 3 & 4).
This large-sized typhoon just came a day after Typhoon Pepang ravaged Leyte, Cebu,
Negros and Panay. ROSING was quite slow-moving and erratic as it approached the country
early morning of October 30 prompting authorities to alert a wide area of the Visayas up to
Northern Luzon.
By the morning of November 2, ROSING's path changed sharply from northwest to a
westward track and threatened to hit Catanduanes but its eye just skirted along the island’s
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northern coast, that evening and moved to target Northern Camarines Norte. Despite the quick
strike, Catanduanes was heavily devastated. Threatening Daet, it moved again slightly west and
made landfall by dawn of November 3 at Siruma, Camarines Sur which lies at the mouth of San
Miguel Bay. One resident of Caramoan, a nearby town, spoke on what she witnessed during the
passage of its eye.
"It was eerie," she said. "the moon and some stars went out during the calm moment with
continuous flashing of lightning somewhere along the area surrounding the eye."
Daet was directly hit after an hour by ROSING as she scoured more of Camarines Norte.
Rosing’s large eyewall, where the strongest winds and heaviest rainfall of a typhoon are located,
was experienced to as far as Naga City as it passed 40 kilometers to the north. After flattening
thousands of houses, trees, electric posts and power lines the howler then crossed Lamon Bay
toppling down large coconut groves and more infrastructures and houses of Calauag, Quezon and
spawned storm surges in the Quezon coastline as with the rest of the province. Landslides
blocked roads in the mountainous regions of the province.
By mid-morning of that day, it started to wreak havoc in Laguna then later Metro Manila
as far as Cavite and Bulacan destroying glass windows and panels of high-rise buildings,
skyscrapers and other infrastructures. Metal and steel trusses of buildings, neon billboards and
even large flagpoles were twisted, uprooted and destroyed. By noon, ROSING crossed Manila
Bay devastating more at Southern Bataan and exited to the South China Sea by early morning of
the next day.
Dead and bloated bodies of people, cattle and other animals were floating in Calauag Bay
after the typhoon with others mangled and decomposing along the seacoast. Aerial surveys of
Quezon Province and Bicol right after ROSING were described to be “a severe natural calamity
to the maximum degree. Truly a wrath of nature’s violent fury.”
Fig. 3. Track of Super Typhoon ROSING.
Fig. 4. Satellite Photo of ROSING
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Typhoon “NITANG” (Ike)
August 31-September 4, 1984
220 kph
1,363 deaths (unofficial est. 1,492-3,000 +)
P 4.1 B damage
Track: Siargao and Nonoc Is., Surigao del Norte incl. Surigao City; southern tip of Southern
Leyte and Panaon Island; Northern Bohol; Carcar, Aloguinsan and Barili in Southern Cebu;
between Guihulngan and Vallehermoso in Northern Negros Oriental; Central Negros Occidental
specifically La Castellana and La Carlota City; Guimaras; Southwestern Iloilo specifically
Tigbauan and Igbaras; San Jose de Buenavista, Antique; Northern Cuyo Islands; Coron Is.,
Palawan
NITANG made landfall at the island of Nonoc and coastline of Surigao del Norte at
about 2 AM of September 2 (see figures 5 & 6) and ravaged Surigao City with its strongest winds
for the rest of dawn leaving the city totally devastated killing hundreds. After crossing the
southern tip of Leyte later that morning, the typhoon slightly weakened but dumped torriental
rains in Camiguin Island and Bohol creating mudslides and flashfloods.
NITANG then crossed Cebu by lunch time and approached Negros early afternoon. With
the fury when it hit Surigao earlier it sent more torrential rains. It bludgeoned the heart of Negros
Island and the cities of Bacolod and Dumaguete. Ilog River, the largest in Negros Island found at
Southern Negros Occ. burst its banks and sent a deluge of mud, water, debris and thousands of
logs to the municipalities of Kabankalan and Ilog killing hundreds. Survivors clambered to
rooftops and attics of two storey houses while others clung on tall trees for almost two days
without food and water. NITANG weakened as it crossed southwestern Iloilo, through its
mountains and to Antique’s capital by early evening spawning floods and landslides. Still with
typhoon strength, it ravaged Cuyo Islands and Coron, Palawan and exited to the South China Sea
by midday of September 4.
Fig. 5. Track of Typhoon NITANG.
Fig. 6. Scanned Satellite Photo of NITANG.
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Super Typhoon “Ruping” (Mike)
November 10-14, 1990
220 kph
748 deaths
P 10.846 B damage
Track: Dinagat Island; Southern Leyte; Mactan Island, Cebu City and the rest of Central Cebu
Island; San Carlos City, D.S. Benedicto, Murcia and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental;
Northern Guimaras; Iloilo City and the Southwestern Iloilo Prov.; Hamtic and San Jose de
Buenavista, Antique; Northern part of Cuyo Islands; Linapacan Strait, Northern Palawan.
RUPING was the country’s most devastating typhoons inflicting more damage than any
other typhoon had done since 1947 (see figures 7 & 8).
It was a large and powerful howler as it approached Surigao del Norte in the early
afternoon of November 12. Heavy damage was already inflicted in Surigao before RUPING made
landfall at Dinagat Island at midnight and headed for Southern Leyte by early morning of
November 13 devastating Maasin and its neighbors. By late in the afternoon of that day RUPING
went off at the sea and maintained its strength as it moved towards Mactan-Cebu area.
The howler rampaged Mactan Island destroying and almost leveling all houses in the
small municipality-island of Cordova nearby, smashing and sinking ships in the harbor, and then
to the heart of Cebu City by the early evening until early dawn of the next day leaving the
metropolitan helpless without electricity and drinking water amidst the terrible debris
everywhere. Thousands of houses in the rural areas of the province were leveled and destroyed by
its ferocious winds. The passage of the eye in Cebu during dusk until late evening of Nov. 12 was
quite unnoticed for everybody was still recuperating form the passage of the eyewall of the
leading side. But to some, it was like the silence before an impending horror that may come just
anytime. Others thought that the typhoon was over so Cebuanos started to pick up the pieces and
debris while some tucked them to sleep, only to be ravaged again around late evening until dawn.
The typhoon maintained its strength as it greeted the early morning of Bacolod City and
the rest of Negros with a tempest never seen since 1951 flattening sugarcane fields and snapping
electric posts to splinters. The eye was calm and sunny with birds flying around when it came
over, but not far away, a wall of dark clouds could be seen coupled by continuous howling of the
winds. By midday, it struck Iloilo City, bearing more devastation to houses and buildings, and
then towards Antique shortly after lunch spawning raging floods in the province’s major rivers.
By the early evening of November 13, it was at the vicinity of Linapacan Strait, Palawan
flattening more houses before exiting to South China Sea. Despite its intensity, deaths were lesser
than expected due to preparations beforehand but it was too catastrophic that the whole
Mindanao, Visayas, Central Luzon, NCR, Bicol and Southern Tagalog Regions sustained heavy
damage and were considered calamity areas. RUPING affected 1,010,004 families or total
affected persons of 5,498,290.
The large eye of typhoon Ruping was also fully appreciated by more than a million
people of the affected population after passing directly over large and densely populated cities of
Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Cebu, Bacolod and Iloilo.
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Fig. 7. Track of Super Typhoon RUPING
Fig 8. Satellite Photo of STY RUPING
Super Typhoon “Sening” (Joan)
October 11-15, 1970
275 kph
768 deaths
P 1.89 B damage
Track: Virac Point, Catanduanes; Sagnay and Naga City in Camarines Sur; inner portion of
Ragay Gulf, Calauag, Lopez Bay coastline, Atimonan and Lucban in Quezon; towns at the
southern and southwestern shore of Laguna Lake in Laguna; Cavite; southern outskirts of
National Capital Region; Mariveles and Lima in Bataan.
SENING has been written in the country’s history books as the strongest typhoon to cross
the country clocking winds up to 275 kph. She heralded the famous 1970 “triplet” super typhoons
that came one after each other in a span of days and weeks only, devastating populated areas of
the country (see figures 9 & 10).
SENING was a horrifying typhoon swirling towards Samar and Leyte by the evening of
October 11. As Samar and the rest of the Visayas were bracing for the typhoon by the early
afternoon of October 12, SENING started moving northwesterly sparing the Visayas and now
threatening the Catanduanes and the Bicol peninsula. By the morning of the next day, Bicol was
already feeling SENING’s fury as it seemed to target Virac. Before lunchtime, SENING grazed
Virac and Catanduanes’ southern coast unleashing severe damage. It then moved at Lagonoy
Gulf, churning the sea into a violent monster that ravaged the shorelines of Albay and Camarines
Sur. By early afternoon, around 1:30pm, Oct 13, SENING's eye bore down directly over Naga
City that momentarily gave its citizens its awesome calmness. A little over a few minutes later the
calm of the eye started to end as the eastern eyewall of the howler came closing in destroying
countless homes, infrastructures, electric posts and thousands of trees. Naga was the first and
largest city SENING wrecked in its course. Scores died from flying debris, collapsing homes,
falling trees and electric posts, and floods.
By evening the howler crossed Ragay Gulf and went on to destroy southern Quezon
killing more and injuring thousands until midnight. SENING went on to ravage Laguna, Cavite
and the rest of the National Capital Region by dawn of October 14 inflicting major damage to
major urban residential, industrial and commercial centers of the metro. Large neon signs and
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billboards in the metropolitan were twisted, broken and totally destroyed scattering hazardous
debris in the streets downtown. It then crossed Manila Bay from Cavite’s capital to unleash fury
to southern Bataan and then to South China Sea by the afternoon of the same day.
Fig. 9. Track of Typhoon SENING.
Fig. 10. Scanned Satellite Photo of SENING.
Typhoon “Undang” (Agnes)
November 3-6, 1984
230 kph
895 deaths
P 1.9 B damage
Track: Llorente, Eastern Samar and Talalora, Samar; Babatngon, N. Leyte incl. Naval in Biliran
Is., coast of Esperanza, Masbate; Gigante Islands in Carles, Northern Iloilo; coastline of Roxas
City, Sapi-an Bay and the rest of Capiz seacoast; Batan and the rest of Aklan; Sebaste, Northern
Antique; Coron and Culion Islands of the Calamian Group.
A little over a month after Nitang ravaged the Visayas and Northern Mindanao,
UNDANG entered the country as a very strong typhoon and reached almost “super typhoon”
status ravaging Southern parts of Samar Island by early morning of November 5. It slightly
weakened but still slammed Tacloban City with a full fury of devastating winds wrecking
buildings and houses and snapping trees and electric posts. It regained strength as she crossed the
Visayan Sea by the middle of the day heading full-force to the islands off Carles in Iloilo
Province (see figures 11 & 12).
It struck Carles and towns in Northern Iloilo at about noontime and plummeled its
howling winds and powerful waves that battered the Northern coast of Capiz, wiping out coastal
barangays, twisting metal trusses and galvanized iron roofs flattening houses in other coastal
municipalities up to the capital, Roxas City. The enormous Panay (pronounced as “Pan - ay”)
River overflowed, transforming half of Capiz into a sea of raging waters filled with debris from
trees, houses, fishponds and corpses with dead animals. Survivors who were swept by the floods
found themselves clinging to floating debris and bloated corpses at sea. Ships and other seacrafts
docked at Roxas City’s Culasi Port were destroyed and sunk while the port itself sustained
insurmountable damage.
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Devastation continued as rains filled the rivers, drowning people and communities of the
rest of Capiz, Aklan, Central Iloilo Province and Northern Antique. By early evening of that day
it left Panay Island and devastated the Calamian Group of Islands in Palawan before exiting by
dawn of November 6 at the South China Sea.
Fig. 11. Track of Typhoon UNDANG.
Fig. 12. Scanned Satellite Photo of UNDANG
Super Typhoon “LOLENG” (Babs)
October 15-24, 1998
250 kph
303 deaths
P 6.787 B damage
Track: Virac, Catanduanes; Lanuy and Quinalasag Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte
coastline; Polillio Islands; Dinangalan, Aurora; Gabaldon and Palayan City, Nueva Ecija;
Urdaneta, Dagupan City, Alaminos and Bani, Pangasinan.
Typhoon LOLENG was a roaring howler by late Oct. 19 at the Philippine Sea heading for
Bicol Region. Shortly after midnight of Oct. 20 LOLENG was in full fury of a Super Typhoon
heading for Bicol, sending its strong winds and rain already at Eastern and Northern Samar (see
figures 13 & 14).
At about early evening of October 21, LOLENG came ashore and hit directly
Catanduanes with Virac taking full force of gusts up to 259 kph. After Catanduanes, it lashed the
seacoast and mountains of Camarines provinces particularly Caramoan Peninsula with it’s, then,
weakening eye just skirting along the coastline of Daet, Camarines Norte. Damage was intense in
the Bicol Region due to the fact that the storm just moved at a slow pace of around 11-15 kph
during its passage. With this, high winds and heavy rains continued for 48 hours at the specified
area, flooding the Bicol River Basin (from October 21 until the early morning hours of the 23rd).
By the early morning of the 22nd, it crossed Lamon Bay spawning surges along the coasts
of Quezon Province. Polillio Island was also ravaged as the storm headed west-northwest for the
whole day with winds and rain unceasingly devastating everything in its path. At dawn LOLENG
came ashore at Baler and then to the heart of Nueva Ecija through Pangasinan destroying more of
dwellings, buildings and agricultural lands. By early evening of that day, LOLENG slightly
weakened as it exited the Lingayen Gulf and out to the South China Sea.
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Areas already devastated by Super Typhoon ILIANG (Zeb) two days earlier were also
affected adding more to the toll of death and devastation.
Fig. 13. Track of Super Typhoon LOLENG
Fig. 14. Satellite Photo of STY LOLENG.
Super Typhoon “SISANG” (Nina)
November 23-27, 1987
240 kph
979 deaths
P 1.119 B damage
Track: Northern tip of Sorsogon Province; Albay specifically Legazpi City; Southern Camarines
Sur particularly Iriga City and the municipalities of Nabua and Bato; Burias Is., southern tip of
Bondoc Peninsula of Quezon Prov.; Marinduque, Verde Island, Puerto Galera and coastline of
Oriental Mindoro and Batangas Province, Lubang Island.
SISANG was a powerful howler that made landfall at the Northern tip of Sorsogon by the
evening of November 25 and spawned a large storm surge that ravaged Legazpi City. The large
eye passed directly over Legazpi City and unleashed horrible damage to Albay with mudslides
that thundered down Mayon Volcano and tremendous surges that swept the seacoast clean of
houses, ports and sea vessels (see figures 15 & 16).
After hitting Legazpi, SISANG made its way to lash directly with its eye over Iriga, the
small southern city of Camarines Sur before exiting Burias Strait. Naga City also sustained heavy
damage as the northern part of the eyewall passed by. Groves of coconut trees and steel power
lines were snapped in two or twisted in unexplainable shapes. Many died from flying debris
caused by the tremendous winds while others drowned from flashfloods and storm surges.
It then crossed Burias Island at dawn of November 26 and then wrecked Marinduque
later that morning and then, creating havoc to Calapan and Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro
destroying more houses and buildings including historic churches and basilicas in the densely
populated province of Batangas. It then exited to the South China Sea by the evening. As
SISANG further weakened, it recurved back to the country threatening Ilocos Region but later
dissipated.
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Fig. 15. Track of Super Typhoon SISANG
Fig. 16. Satellite Photo of STY SISANG.
Typhoon “Kadiang” (Flo)
September 30-October 7, 1993
130 kph
576 deaths
P 8.752 B damage
Track: southeastern Isabela coastline; Casiguran and Northern tip of Aurora; Quirino; Nueva
Vizcaya; Baguio City and the rest of southern Benguet; Southern parts of La Union; Lingayen
Gulf; Alaminos and Agno, Pangasinan; western seacoast of Pangasinan and to Bolinao in
Pangasinan; San Fernando and the rest of La Union; parts of Ilocos Sur; Mountain Province;
Kalinga-Apayao; Cagayan Valley to Gonzaga and Palaui Is., Cagayan; east of the Babuyan
Islands (figures 17 & 18) .
The 22nd typhoon to hit the country in a record of 32 in 1993, KADIANG came after
typhoons that have already unleashed havoc to the country and left some provinces still high in
floodwaters.
This slow moving and quite erratic storm seemed to miss the Philippines at the late
evening of September 30 to the morning of October 1. But by midnight up to dawn of the next
day, October 2, KADIANG moved west towards Northern Luzon in a slow but intensifying
manner. By the evening, KADIANG was clearly heading towards Isabela slowly. At about
lunchtime of October 4, the typhoon made landfall at the boundary of Isabela and Aurora creating
storm surges along gulfs and inlets at the coastline. KADIANG then sped up a bit as it moved
quite west-southwest through Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya by late afternoon, dumping torrential
rains. It passed close by south of Baguio City by the evening creating countless landslides in the
rugged roads along mountain ranges. About past midninght, October 5, KADIANG entered
Lingayen Gulf sending howling winds and heavy rain in La Union and Pangasinan which, in turn,
made Agno River swell, drowning Dagupan and other low-lying towns and cities of Pangasinan.
It then came ashore Alaminos by daybreak and went through the narrow peninsula to South China
Sea.
But after lunch KADIANG made a detour and recurved back to Pangasinan, this time
coming ashore in Bolinao. It again crossed Lingayen Gulf. The typhoon, although weakened still
threw rain as far as Ilocos and Metro Manila. Gigantic lahars or volcanic mudflows thundered
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down Pinatubo Volcano burying towns in Pampanga, killing many. Floods rose in major rivers in
Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan and Zambales marooning millions.
By early morning of October 6 it hit San Fernando, La Union wrecking houses along
rivers. Landslides occurred at Mountain Province and Kalinga-Apayao by the whole morning as
KADIANG lashed them with heavy rains. The typhoon then flooded Cagayan by lunchtime and
early afternoon. At about early evening, KADIANG had exited extreme Northern Luzon and was
at the eastern part of the Babuyan Group of Islands. Floodwaters brought about by KADIANG
did not recede until after 3 weeks to about a month, spoiling ricefields ready for harvest at Central
Luzon. Lahars from Pinatubo wiped out some villages and towns in Pampanga displacing
hundreds of thousands.
Fig. 17. Track of Typhoon KADIANG
Fig. 18. Scanned Satellite Photo of KADIANG.
Typhoon “AMY”
December 6-19, 1951
240 kph
991 deaths
P 0.7 B damage
Track: Mercedes and Guiuan, Eastern Samar; Abuyog and Mac Arthur, Leyte; Cebu City and
Toledo City in Cebu; San Carlos City, Murcia and Bago City in Negros Occidental; Southern tip
of Guimaras, San Joaquin, Iloilo; Anini-y, Antique; Cuyo Islands and Northern Palawan.
Before the local weather bureau had Filipino names for typhoons, AMY became one of
the most destructive typhoons of the country lashing all islands in the Visayas (see figure 19).
AMY made landfall near Guiuan in Eastern Samar early afternoon of December 9. The
typhoon then crossed Leyte Gulf and bore down forests and towns of Leyte sending large floods
and landslides. By midnight and the early morning of December 10, AMY plummeled Cebu City
and its outskirts destroying Cebu harbor and ships on dock. Houses and buildings were almost
totally destroyed. It ravaged further the forests and towns of Northern Negros Occidental.
At about 7 AM, a storm surge slammed the entire Northwestern coastline of Negros
Occidental from Bago up to Saravia with Bacolod City as the hardest hit. Houses and buildings
that were destroyed by the winds were washed out by the storm surge relocating them more than
a kilometer away from their foundations. Floods remained for days at Bacolod and Iloilo as AMY
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fell more forests and houses in Anini-y, Antique. The typhoon still dumped more rains and threw
its tempest by early morning of December 11 at Northern Palawan. As the typhoon exited it
slowed down and remained quasi-stationary for 2 days at the Spratly Islands dumping heavy rains
at Northern Palawan. It then recurved creating a loop and finally exited to South China Sea.
Fig. 19. Track of Typhoon AMY
Note:
The places indicated in the track are the areas directly passed over by the center of the storm or the (center
of the) eye of the typhoon and its immediate area.
Summary written by Dominic Alojado with additional information by David Michael V. Padua of
Typhoon2000.com.
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