| Category 4 typhoon (SSHS) | |
|---|---|
| Super Typhoon Babs near peak intensity | |
| Formed | October 14, 1998 |
| Dissipated | October 27, 1998 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 250 km/h (155 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 940 mbar (hPa; 27.76 inHg) |
| Fatalities | 327 direct, 29 missing |
| Damage | $145 million (1998 USD) |
| Areas affected | Philippines, Taiwan |
| Part of the 1998 Pacific typhoon season | |
Super Typhoon Babs (international designation: 9811, JTWC designation: 20W, PAGASA name: Typhoon Loleng) was the second typhoon to strike the nation days after Typhoon Zeb made landfall.
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A tropical depression formed on October 13 and the next day it was upgraded to a tropical storm and was named Babs. Babs moved westward before stalling off the coast of the Philippines and drifting for several days. In proximity to Typhoon Zeb, the Babs barely strengthened until October 19.[1]
Babs rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 typhoon with 140 mph (115 Kt) winds, then twelve hours later Babs reached a peak intensity of 155 mph before passing over Catanduanes Island on the 21st. The typhoon continued to move westward where it paralleled the coast of Luzon and then entered the South China Sea. Babs then recurved north and then northeast before dissipating west of Taiwan.[1]
| Costliest Philippine typhoons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Year | PHP | USD |
| 1 | Parma (Pepeng) | 2009 | 27.3 billion | 608 million |
| 2 | Nesat (Pedring) | 2011 | 15 billion | 333 million |
| 3 | Fengshen (Frank) | 2008 | 13.5 billion | 301 million |
| 4 | Ketsana (Ondoy) | 2009 | 11 billion | 244 million |
| 5 | Megi (Juan) | 2010 | 11 billion | 255 million |
| 6 | Mike (Ruping) | 1990 | 10.8 billion | 241 million |
| 7 | Angela (Rosing) | 1995 | 10.8 billion | 241 million |
| 8 | Flo (Kadiang) | 1993 | 8.75 billion | 195 million |
| 9 | Babs (Loleng) | 1998 | 6.79 billion | 151 million |
| 10 | Xangsane (Milenyo) | 2006 | 6.61 billion | 147 million |
| Source: [1], [2], [3] | ||||
Just like Typhoon Zeb days earlier, Babs was very destructive to the Philippines. According to several observers, about 221 people were killed with 199 of them in the southern tip of Luzon. Elsewhere there were 22 fatalities.[1] Catanduanes Island was hardest hit as 71 deaths were reported. Most of the deaths were caused by mudslides and flash flooding. Across the Philippines there were scattered reports of indirect deaths (mostly from snakebites and clean up accidents).[1]
Babs left PHP 6.57 billion ($138 million 1998 USD) and devastated the coconut and rice harvest which forced the country into an economic recession.[1]
In Taiwan, the dissipating remnants of Babs left 24 people dead.[1]
Due to destruction, its PAGASA name, Loleng, was retired after this season. Because PAGASA changed names in 2001, there is no need for a replacement name.
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