1987 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Betty 1987
Typhoon Betty devastated parts of the central Philippines in August 1987 before continuing to Vietnam. Flooding, damaged homes and agricultural losses affected communities along both sides of the South China Sea.
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161 mph
Aug 11, 1987 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid strengthening before the Philippines
Betty developed within the monsoon trough near Palau and drifted northwest. It became a typhoon on 10 August, turned west and intensified rapidly. Peak archived one-minute winds reached 140 kt on 11 August, with a minimum central pressure of 890 hPa.
The typhoon crossed the central Philippines on 12 August and weakened quickly over land. It recovered some strength over the South China Sea before reaching central Vietnam on 16 August. The circulation dissipated the following day.
Homes, crops and flood damage
In the Philippines, about 200,000 people were reported homeless and more than 25,000 homes were damaged. Marinduque lost its banana crop, and Mindoro also suffered major displacement. The Philippine toll was 85 deaths and 324 injuries, with damage estimated at US$100 million in 1987 values.
Betty caused six deaths in Vietnam, where roughly 10,000 structures were damaged. One further death occurred in northern Thailand as flooding damaged villages and roads, bringing the reported total to 92.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Betty in brief
What was Typhoon Betty's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Aug 11, 1987, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Betty?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Aug 11, 1987, 12:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Betty's lowest pressure?
890 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Aug 11, 1987, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Betty occur?
The archived track runs from Aug 7, 1987, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 17, 1987, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Aug 7, 1987, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 17, 1987, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Betty form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1987 season. Its first archived position is 8.4°N, 134.2°E on Aug 7, 1987, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Betty make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 150 mph on Aug 12, 1987, 03:00 AM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology