Typhoon Billie (1976)
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| Category 4 typhoon (SSHS) | ||
|---|---|---|
 Typhoon Billie at peak intensity |
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| Formed | July 31, 1976 | |
| Dissipated | August 12, 1976 | |
| Highest winds |
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| Lowest pressure | 952 hPa (mbar) | |
| Fatalities | 48 direct | |
| Damage | $2.6 million (1976 USD) $10 million (2008 USD) |
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| Areas affected |
Japan, Taiwan, eastern China | |
| Part of the 1976 Pacific typhoon season |
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Typhoon Billie (JTWC designation: Typhoon 13W)[1] was an early August Category 4 typhoon that left 48 people dead and eight others missing (mostly at sea) and left $2.6 million (1976 USD, $8.9 million 2005 USD) in damage in Taiwan and eastern China after its 3449 km track across the far western Pacific.[2]
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[edit] Storm history
A disturbance 180 miles northeast of Ponape formed on July 31 and moved westward as it continued to strengthen, becoming Tropical Depression 13W on August 3. Interacting with a subtropical ridge to the north, the tropical depression turned sharply northeast and passed over Saipan before strengthening into Tropical Storm Billie.
Driven by a high pressure system and a trough, Billie then turned to the southwest and then westward and became a typhoon on August 5. On August 7, Typhoon Billie underwent rapid intensification, reaching a maximum intensity of 140 mph (125 knots).
By August 12, the tropical cyclone had encountered wind shear which weakened the storm before it hit Taiwan as a Category 1 typhoon and China as a tropical storm. Billie then dissipated after landfall.
[edit] Impact
Billie skirted the Ryūkyū Islands before making landfall in Taiwan and again in eastern China, producing huge waves that drowned 41 fishermen and swimmers along the coast of Japan. A JTWC weather station in Miyakojima reported a barometric pressure of 962 millibars and winds of 51 mph (82 km/h). In Ishigakijima, a weather station reported winds of 109 mph (176 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 952 millibars. [3]
Billie's second landfall was south of Taipei, Taiwan where a weather station reported 81 mph (130 km/h) winds. However, at the Taipei International Airport, the winds were at 40 mph (65 km/h) with gusts up to 75 mph (120 km/h). Billie's impact in Taiwan was destructive as the storm sank three ships and damaged several others and killed seven people, leaving eight others missing, injured 24 and left $2.6 million (1976 USD, $8.9 million 2005 USD) in damage.[3]
The third and final landfall was in eastern China as a tropical storm which brought 70 mph (113 km/h) winds and heavy rain but there were no reports of deaths or damage reported.[3] The name Billie was not retired after the 1976 Pacific typhoon season.
