2005 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Haitang 2005
Typhoon Haitang crossed Taiwan in July 2005 before reaching mainland China. Its slow passage over Taiwan's mountains brought flash floods and landslides, followed by extensive infrastructure damage farther west.
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161 mph
Jul 16, 2005 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Strengthening on the approach to Taiwan
Haitang developed west of Marcus Island and moved west across the Pacific. It strengthened into a typhoon and entered the Philippine warning area, where PAGASA named it Feria. Maximum one-minute winds reached 140 kt on July 16, equivalent to Category 5.
A slow passage across Taiwan
The typhoon weakened before reaching Taiwan near Hualien on July 18. Its crossing took about a day, bringing heavy rain to mountainous terrain. Officials closed schools and businesses and evacuated more than 1,500 people. Floods, landslides, fallen trees and power failures affected communities across the island.
A second landfall in China
Haitang reorganized after leaving Taiwan and made another landfall near Wenzhou on July 19. It then weakened inland. The saved account describes damage to homes, roads and power lines across mainland China, where most of the storm's estimated US$1.17 billion in losses occurred, in 2005 currency.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Haitang in brief
What was Typhoon Haitang's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jul 16, 2005, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Haitang?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jul 16, 2005, 09:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Haitang's lowest pressure?
898 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jul 16, 2005, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Haitang occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 10, 2005, 12:00 PM UTC to Jul 21, 2005, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 11, 2005, 06:00 AM UTC to Jul 21, 2005, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Haitang form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 2005 season. Its first archived position is 21.9°N, 154.9°E on Jul 10, 2005, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Haitang make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 107 mph on Jul 18, 2005, 09:00 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