1966 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Cora 1966
Typhoon Cora battered the southern Ryukyu Islands for more than a day in September 1966 before reaching China. Miyako-jima suffered extensive structural damage, while flooding and destruction followed in Fujian, already affected by another typhoon.
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173 mph
Sep 5, 1966 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Prolonged winds on Miyako-jima
Cora reached its archived peak of 150 kt on 5 September. Its slow passage through the southern Ryukyus exposed the islands to prolonged high winds. Miyako-jima recorded gusts of 307 km/h, and winds of at least 144 km/h persisted for 13 hours.
On Miyako-jima, 1,943 homes were destroyed and another 3,249 severely damaged. Wooden buildings often failed after losing their roofs, while reinforced concrete structures generally performed better. Despite the widespread destruction, no deaths were reported in the affected Ryukyu region.
Damage in Taiwan and Fujian
Cora brought damaging gusts and heavy rain to northern Taiwan, where three people died and thousands were evacuated. It then struck Fujian in China after Typhoon Alice, worsening conditions in communities already dealing with storm damage.
Fujian reported 269 deaths, 52 people missing and more than 21,000 homes destroyed. Rain from Alice and Cora produced extensive flooding and crop losses. Cora subsequently turned northeast as it lost its tropical character.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Cora in brief
What was Typhoon Cora's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 5, 1966, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Cora?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 4, 1966, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Cora's lowest pressure?
918 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 5, 1966, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Cora occur?
The archived track runs from Aug 28, 1966, 06:00 PM UTC to Sep 9, 1966, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Aug 30, 1966, 06:00 AM UTC to Sep 7, 1966, 03:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Cora form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1966 season. Its first archived position is 17.3°N, 147°E on Aug 28, 1966, 06:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Cora make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 150 mph on Sep 7, 1966, 12:00 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