1959 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Sarah 1959
Typhoon Sarah devastated Miyakojima and southern Korea in September 1959. It passed over the Japanese island near peak strength, then turned toward Busan, where wind and waves wrecked homes, boats and port facilities. Its later circulation continued through northern Japan and the Russian Far East.
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190 mph
Sep 15, 1959 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A powerful passage over Miyakojima
Sarah developed near Guam and moved west-northwest. The archive records peak one-minute winds of 165 kt at 06:00 UTC on 15 September. Soon afterward, Sarah crossed Miyakojima, where observers measured a pressure of 908.1 hPa and gusts near 240 km/h before the wind instrument broke.
The typhoon destroyed about 6,000 homes on Miyakojima and damaged the island's crops. Seven people died and 88 suffered injuries. Damage totaled about US$2 million in 1959 dollars, and Japan gave the storm the local name Miyakojima Typhoon.
Destruction near Busan
Sarah weakened while turning north, then accelerated northeast and struck just west of Busan on 17 September. Waves and coastal flooding damaged or sank thousands of boats and devastated waterfront communities. Across South Korea, the storm destroyed more than 14,000 homes and left about 782,000 people homeless.
Authorities reported at least 669 deaths in South Korea, while contemporary accounts also described the loss of a fishing fleet carrying 1,200 people offshore. Property damage exceeded US$100 million in 1959 dollars. Relief agencies sent clothing, blankets and funds to survivors.
Northern Japan and the Russian Far East
Sarah continued across Hokkaido as it lost its tropical character. Its later circulation crossed Sakhalin and the Russian Far East before returning east toward the Kuril Islands. The full archived track ends on 23 September.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Sarah in brief
What was Typhoon Sarah's highest wind speed?
190 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 15, 1959, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Sarah?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 14, 1959, 12:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Sarah's lowest pressure?
905 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 15, 1959, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Sarah occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 10, 1959, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 23, 1959, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 11, 1959, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 18, 1959, 03:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Sarah form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1959 season. Its first archived position is 13.6°N, 148.3°E on Sep 10, 1959, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Sarah make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 113 mph on Sep 17, 1959, 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