 Surface weather analysis of Typhoon Louise approaching the Philippines on November 18 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| as Typhoon Louise | |
| Formed | November 14, 1964 |
| Dissipated | November 21, 1964 |
| Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 305 km/h (190 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg |
| Meteorological history | |
| as Tropical Storm Marge | |
| Formed | November 20, 1964 |
| Dissipated | November 26, 1964 |
| Tropical storm | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 100 km/h (65 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 995 hPa (mbar); 29.38 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | At least 577 (1 in Palau, ≥576 in the Philippines) |
| Damage | ≥$12.6 million (1964 USD) |
| Areas affected | Palau, Philippines |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1964 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Louise and Tropical Storm Marge, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ining and Tropical Storm Liling, respectively, were a pair of tropical cyclones that impacted Palau and the Philippines in November 1964. Louise was one of the most destructive typhoons documented in the central Philippines. Tracking data from meteorological agencies disagree whether the systems were a single tropical cyclone or two distinct tropical cyclones that occurred in quick succession, named separately by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) as Louise and Marge (and by the Philippine Weather Bureau as Ining and Liling).
The typhoon may have formed as early as November 14 in the vicinity of Yap State. It quickly strengthened and became a typhoon by November 16. Later that day, the storm passed south of Palau near Anguar. Intensification continued, and Louise's winds later reached Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale at 7.3°N, closer to the equator than any other storm of such strength in the Northern Hemisphere on record. The storm's one-minute sustained winds topped out at 305 km/h (190 mph) before making landfall on Surigao del Sur on November 18. Agencies that consider Louise and Marge to be the same storm indicate that the typhoon weakened over the Philippines and tracked northwest before making a counterclockwise arc across Luzon and the eastern South China Sea. Agencies that consider them separate systems believe Louise dissipated after crossing the Philippines, with a separate Marge concurrently developing east of Luzon and taking the arced path. Dissipation of Marge occurred by November 26.
Widespread devastation occurred in Angaur and Peleliu, two southern islands in Palau. In Peleliu, 97 percent of structures were destroyed. There was one death and four injuries caused by the typhoon in Palau, with total property and crop damage amounting to US$50,000–US$100,000. Louise moved across 13 Philippine provinces, with the most severe damage occurring in Surigao del Norte where the damage amounted to around US$12.5 million. Enumerations of the death toll ranged between 576 and 631, with around 300,000 people left homeless. Property damage was high throughout the affected regions, with Surigao City suffering the brunt of the typhoon. Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal stated that he had never "seen a more comprehensive devastation of any one province" following an aerial survey of Surigao del Norte.