1989 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Gordon 1989
Typhoon Gordon struck northern Luzon near peak strength in July 1989 and later brought severe flooding to southern China. Although weaker at its Chinese landfall, the storm caused its greatest reported loss of life there.
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161 mph
Jul 15, 1989 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid strengthening toward Luzon
Gordon developed east of the Northern Mariana Islands and moved west-southwest beneath a subtropical ridge. It became a typhoon on 13 July and intensified rapidly. Peak archived one-minute winds reached 140 kt on 15 July.
The typhoon struck the northern Philippines and then crossed the South China Sea while gradually weakening. Ninety people died in the Philippines, and an estimated 120,000 were left homeless.
Severe flooding in southern China
Gordon reached southern China on 18 July. Extensive flooding inundated coastal cities and caused at least 200 deaths. Reported losses in China reached 1.2 billion yuan, equivalent to US$319 million in 1989 values.
Fourteen people also drowned offshore, and two deaths occurred in Hong Kong. Gordon weakened over land and was last tracked on 19 July, after a ten-day passage from the western Pacific to southern China.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Gordon in brief
What was Typhoon Gordon's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jul 15, 1989, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Gordon?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jul 15, 1989, 06:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Gordon's lowest pressure?
915 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jul 15, 1989, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Gordon occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 9, 1989, 12:00 AM UTC to Jul 19, 1989, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 9, 1989, 12:00 AM UTC to Jul 19, 1989, 06:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Gordon form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1989 season. Its first archived position is 20°N, 160.2°E on Jul 9, 1989, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Gordon make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 150 mph on Jul 15, 1989, 09:00 PM 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