Typhoon Pamela (1954)

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Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
Disc Plain black.svg Tropical cyclone
Solid black.svg Subtropical cyclone
ArrowUp.svg Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

On October 26, a tropical cyclone formed east of the Philippines, having a minimum pressure of 1,006 hPa (29.7 inHg). [1] Early the next day, the Fleet Weather Center (FWC) began tracking the cyclone, which had intensified into a tropical storm, naming it Pamela. [2] The JMA followed suit the next day, noting that it had intensified into a tropical storm [3] and deepened to have a minimum pressure of 998 hPa (29.5 inHg). [1] Intensifying further, on October 30, both the FWC and JMA noted that Pamela had rapidly intensified into a typhoon. [2] [4]

Soon after, Pamela began intensifying again, having 1-minute sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) early early on October 31, being a Category 2-equivalent hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. [2] At 12:00 UTC that same day, Pamela would intensify into a super typhoon according to the FWC, [2] attaining a minimum pressure of 960 hPa (28 inHg). [1] Soon after, it peaked with sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h), [2] later peaking with a minimum pressure of 900 hPa (27 inHg) early the next day. [1] However, soon after, it began steadily weakening, with its pressures rising steadily. [1]

Despite that, on November 5, Pamela re-intensified into a super typhoon over the South China Sea, [2] becoming the first of only four super typhoons in the area—the others were Yagi in 2024, Rammasun in 2014, and Rai in 2021. [5] The next day, Pamela made landfall in China as a minimal typhoon. As a result, early on September 7, Pamela weakened into a tropical storm, [2] prior to the JMA last tracking the typhoon a few hours later. [1] The FWC kept tracking it until it had weakened into a tropical depression early the next day. [2]

Preparations and impact

All of Hong Kong's cross harbour ferry services and some tram services were suspended prior to the typhoon. [6] The SS Chusan, which was loading cargo in Victoria Harbour, had to leave it as Pamela approached. [7] In Hong Kong, baby was killed by a loosened rock and three fisherman died after their boat capsized. Additionally, an electrician was indirectly killed while repairing a electrical line broken during the typhoon. [8] In total, five deaths [9] and thirteen injuries were recorded in the island. [10] Both Quarry Bay and North Point received a storm surge of 1.16 m (3.8 ft). [11] [12]

In Haiphong, all of the Task Force 90 ships, vessels which were involved in Operation Passage to Freedom, had to evade the typhoon until November 7. [13] Alongside the southern coast of China, Pamela sunk around 1,100 fishing boats, causing it to be the "worst disaster to the fishing people of South China in a century". [14] The USS Muskingum, a cargo ship which at the time was 130 mi (210 km) southwest of Taiwan, was caught in the typhoon. As a result, the British steamer HMS Birmingham, a Norwegian motor ship Hoi Houw, and a ship off the coast of Luzon began searching for it. [15] A man fell off the USS Helena and had to be saved by a lifeboat crew. [16] Elsewhere, the moorings of the SS Gujarat were torn. Two Hong Kong fishing trawlers, which had a crew of 14 and 12 respectively, went missing due to rough seas produced by Pamela. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "RSMC Best Track Data (Text)". Japan Meteorological Agency. 1951–1959. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Typhoon Pamela (16W) Best Track". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ "List of weather charts on October 29, 1954 (Fri)". Digital Typhoon. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  4. ↑ "List of weather charts on October 30, 1954 (Fri)". Digital Typhoon. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  5. ↑ Carpineti, Alfredo; Large, Holly (September 10, 2024). "Deadly Tropical Storm Yagi Has Become A Super Typhoon – What Does That Mean?". IFLScience. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Typhoon Buffets Hong Kong, Kills Five". The West Australian. November 8, 1954. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  7. ↑ "'Pamela' puts Chusan back on schedule". The Straits Times. November 12, 1954. p. 5. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Sarasota Herald-Tribune". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 8, 1954. p. 8. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Daytona Beach Morning Journal". Vol. 30, no. 168. Daytona Beach Morning Journal. November 8, 1954. p. Front Cover. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  10. ↑ Institute, Hong Kong Chronicles (June 30, 2022). Hong Kong Chronicles: Overview & Chronology. Chung Hwa Book Co. (H.K.) Ltd. p. 286. ISBN   978-988-8807-32-1 . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  11. ↑ Lee, T. C.; C. F., Wong (October 2, 2007). Historical Storm Surges and Storm Surge Forecasting in Hong Kong (PDF) (Report). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Observatory. p. 7. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Storm Surge Records: Typhoon Pamela (Nov 1954)". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  13. ↑ Frankum, Ronald Bruce (2007). Operation Passage to Freedom: The United States Navy in Vietnam, 1954-1955. Texas Tech University Press. p. 172. ISBN   978-0-89672-608-6.
  14. ↑ "St. Joseph News-Press". St. Joseph News-Press. November 15, 1954. p. 16. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  15. ↑ "SHIP CAUGHT IN TYPHOON PAMELA: SOS". Sun News-Pictorial. AAP. November 6, 1954. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Man overboard". USS Helena (CA-75). Retrieved September 10, 2024.
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Typhoon Pamela
2 November 1954 Typhoon weather map.jpg
Pamela at its peak intensity over the South China Sea on September 2