Typhoon Rita (1978)

Typhoon Rita (Kading)
Typhoon Rita near peak intensity on October 24
Meteorological history
FormedOctober 17, 1978
DissipatedOctober 29, 1978
Violent typhoon
10-minute sustained (JMA)
Highest winds220 km/h (140 mph)
Lowest pressure880 hPa (mbar); 25.99 inHg
Category 5-equivalent super typhoon
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds280 km/h (175 mph)
Lowest pressure878 hPa (mbar); 25.93 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities≥300 total
Missing354
Damage$100 million (1978 USD)
Areas affectedGuam, Philippines, Vietnam
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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]

  1. ^ "Meteorological Results - 1978" (PDF). Hong Kong Royal Observatory. 1979. Retrieved May 17, 2013.