 Mireille at peak intensity west of Guam on September 22 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 13, 1991 |
| Extratropical | September 28, 1991 |
| Dissipated | October 4, 1991 |
| Very strong typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 185 km/h (115 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 925 hPa (mbar); 27.32 inHg |
| Category 4-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 240 km/h (150 mph) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 68 total |
| Damage | $10 billion (1991 USD) (Tied as sixth-costliest typhoon on record in nominal terms; second-costliest typhoon when adjusted for inflation) |
| Areas affected | Saipan, South Korea, Japan, Alaska |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1991 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Mireille, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rosing, was the costliest typhoon on record, until it was surpassed by Typhoon Doksuri in 2023.[1] Striking Japan in September 1991, it became the 20th named storm of the 1991 Pacific typhoon season, Mireille formed on September 13 from the monsoon trough near the Marshall Islands. It moved westward for several days as a small system, steered by the subtropical ridge to the north. The storm rapidly intensified to typhoon status on September 16, and several days later passed north of Saipan in the Northern Marianas Islands. Mireille intensified further after deleterious effects from a nearby tropical storm subsided. On September 22, the American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph), and on the next day, the official Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) estimated 10‑minute sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). The typhoon weakened slightly while turning northward, passing just east of Miyako-jima and later to the west of Okinawa. On September 27, Mireille made landfall near Nagasaki in southwestern Japan with winds of 175 km/h (109 mph), the strongest since Typhoon Nancy in 1961. The storm accelerated to the northeast through the Sea of Japan, moving over Hokkaido before becoming extratropical on September 28. The remnants of Mireille continued to the east, passing through the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on October 1.
The typhoon first threatened Guam, although it passed well to the north of the island, bringing damaging winds to northern Saipan. The first part of Japan affected was Miyako-jima, where heavy rainfall and high winds damaged crops. Mireille lashed Okinawa with strong waves, while strong winds up to 189 km/h (117 mph) damaged power lines and trees. The typhoon ultimately caused damage in 41 of 47 prefectures of Japan, with overall damage estimated at $10 billion (1991 USD, $22.5 billion in 2023), making it the costliest typhoon on record as of 2017.[nb 1] Mireille produced record wind gusts at 26 locations, with a peak gust of 218 km/h (135 mph) in western Honshu. The winds caused record power outages across Japan that affected 7.36 million people, or about 13% of total customers. Mireille also left extensive crop damage totaling $3 billion, mostly to the apple industry, after 345,000 tons of apples fell to the ground and another 43,000 were damaged on the trees. The storm damaged over 670,000 houses, of which 1,058 were destroyed, and another 22,965 were flooded. Throughout Japan, Mireille killed 66 people and injured another 2,862 people, including ten deaths on a capsized freighter. Elsewhere, the typhoon killed two people in South Korea, and its remnants brought strong winds to Alaska.
- ^ "Real-Time Northwest Pacific Ocean Statistics compared with climatology". tropical.atmos.colostate.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
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