&sq=&lang=&file=File:Typhoon_Rita_10-22_(cropped).png) Typhoon Rita near peak intensity on October 24 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 17, 1978 |
| Dissipated | October 29, 1978 |
| Violent typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 220 km/h (140 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 880 hPa (mbar); 25.99 inHg |
| Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 280 km/h (175 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 878 hPa (mbar); 25.93 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | ≥300 total |
| Missing | 354 |
| Damage | $100 million (1978 USD) |
| Areas affected | Guam, Philippines, Vietnam |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1978 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Rita, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kading, was the most powerful tropical cyclone during the 1978 Pacific typhoon season and one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record. A long-lived and destructive tropical cyclone, Rita began its journey east of the Marshall Islands and rapidly moved westwards, becoming a typhoon on October 20. Rita continued rapid intensification and attained super typhoon status and later an atmospheric pressure of 878 mbar (25.9 inHg) on October 25. Rita struck the Philippines overnight on October 26 and entered the South China Sea as a minimal typhoon. Rita caused extreme damage and more than 300 deaths.[1]
- ^ "Meteorological Results - 1978" (PDF). Hong Kong Royal Observatory. 1979. Retrieved May 17, 2013.