Typhoons Brian, Angela and Dan - Oct 1989

Typhoon Brian

Typhoon Brian attained typhoon intensity on 2 October about 230km east of Yaxian, Hainan. It made landfall over Hainan about 30km east of Yaxian that evening. Brian passed just south of the city after midnight and soon entered open waters again. It then changed its track west-northwestwards and weakened to a severe tropical storm. Brian made landfall over the northern part of Viet Nam about 230km south of Hanoi on the afternoon of 3 October and weakened rapidly to a tropical storm. As it moved further inland, it further weakened to an area of low pressure in Laos.

Brian caused severe flooding in Hainan. About 96,000 hectares of paddy rice were inundated. Forty people were killed and 529 were injured. About 15,900 houses collapsed and 169,000 were damaged. Over 25 million lumber trees and rubber trees were blown down. There were about 1,300 reports of damage of dams and hydro-electric stations and 63 damage reports of bridges. Other damage included 134 boats, 700km of power cables and 2,100 km of telephone lines. The total damage was estimated to be about 837 million RMB. Off the coast of Hainan, a Hong Kong fishing vessel sank on the morning of 3 October. The area was searched but none of the seven crew members was found. (Government of Hong Kong SAR, October 1990)

Typhoon Angela

Typhoon Angela swept across the northern coast of Luzon during the early hours of 6 October. The flooding caused by Typhoon Angela left at least 118 people dead and 27 injured in northern Philippines. About 1,400 houses were destroyed, 3,300 houses were damaged, and 9,000 people were left homeless. The strong winds also toppled electric and telephone posts. Rice fields and tobacco land were inundated. Crops damaged were estimated to be about 1.6 million pesos. Angela entered the South China Sea on 6 October and weakened considerably after interacting with the terrain of northern Luzon. It continued its westward track across the northern part of the South China Sea at about 13 km/h. It weakened to a severe tropical storm on 10 October and made landfall over Viet Nam about 210 km northwest of Danang. Angela soon dissipated over land. (Government of Hong Kong SAR, October 1990)

Initial assessment of the damage in Viet Nam was as follows: 52 dead, 762 injured and 52 missing. At least 90,000 houses collapsed or were destroyed. (UN DHA, 19 October 1989)

Typhoon Dan

Typhoon Dan swept across the central Philippines during the night of 10 October, and passed just south of Manila the following morning. According to press reports, 57 people were injured and 80 killed in the Philippines during the passage of Dan. Strong winds toppled trees and power pylons in Manila where power supply was cut off for more than 24 hours. The losses from damage to crops and property as well as industrial disruption ran to millions of US dollars.

Dan passed about 80 km south-southwest of Yaxian, Hainan early on 13 October. In Hainan, the city of Tongshi was severely flooded with water levels rising to 1.5 metres high. In Lingshui and Yaxian Counties, flooding occurred in several villages and caused some houses to collapse, leaving hundreds of people homeless. Two people were killed and 21 were injured. Damage to agriculture, power supply and communication was severe. The casualties due to Brian, Angela and Dan were reported to be 63 killed, 15 missing and 712 injured. About 30 million rubber trees were blown down. The total loss due to the three typhoons was estimated to be over 1,000 million RMB.

Dan weakened to a severe tropical storm on 13 October as it moved towards the Viet Nam coast. It made landfall about 300km south of Hanoi that evening. Dan finally dissipated in Laos about 180 km east-northeast of Vientiane early on 14 October.

In Viet Nam, 34 people were killed and 466 were injured. Floods caused by heavy rain swept away some 8,000 houses and several hundred boats. About 134,000 hectares of rice ready for harvest were inundated. Dan's powerful winds also blew down about 44,000 houses and tore off the roofs of another 500,000 houses. Traffic on the trans-Viet Namese highway was also blocked. (Government of Hong Kong SAR, October 1990)