 Surface weather analysis of the typhoon near Japan on September 21 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 13, 1934 |
| Extratropical | September 21, 1934 |
| Dissipated | September 25, 1934 |
| Typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 150 km/h (90 mph) |
| Highest gusts | 235 km/h (145 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 911.9hPa (mbar); 26.93 inHg (Record lowest for landfalling storm in mainland Japan) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 3,066 total |
| Damage | ≥$300 million (1934USD) |
| Areas affected | Japan,Alaska |
IBTrACS | |
Part of the1934 Pacific typhoon season | |
In September 1934, a violenttyphoon caused tremendous devastation in Japan, leaving more than 3,000 people dead in its wake. Dubbed theMuroto typhoon (室戸台風,Muroto Taifū),[1] the system was first identified on September 13 over the westernFederated States of Micronesia. Moving generally northwest, it eventually brushed theRyukyu Islands on September 20. Turning northeast, the typhoon accelerated and struckShikoku and southernHonshu the following morning. It madelandfalls inMuroto,Kaifu,Awaji Island, andKobe. A pressure of 911.9 hPa (26.93 inHg) was observed in Muroto, making the typhoon the strongest ever recorded to impact Japan at the time. This value was also the lowest land-based pressure reading in the world on record at the time; however, it was surpassed the following year during the1935 Labor Day hurricane. After clearing Japan, the nowextratropical storm traveled east and weakened. Turning north by September 24, the system deepened and impacted theAleutian Islands; it was last noted the following day over westernAlaska.
Regarded at the time as the "second-greatest catastrophe of modern Japan" after the1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the storm left parts ofOsaka in ruins. Tens of thousands of structures were damaged or destroyed, leaving approximately 200,000 people homeless. Among the 3,066 people killed were 421 children and teachers who perished when their flimsy schools were destroyed. This ranked it, at the time, as the deadliest typhoon in Japanese history. In addition to the fatalities, 13,184 people were injured. Total damage exceeded $300 million (1934 USD).
On September 13, 1934, a tropical cyclone developed over the westernCaroline Islands. The storm traveled generally northwest, executing a brief cyclonic loop on September 14–15. After a brief stint traveling nearly due north on September 17, the cyclone began recurving to the northeast. It brushed theRyukyu Islands to the southeast on September 20 as it accelerated northeast. On the morning of September 21, the typhoon struckShikoku and southernHonshu.[2] According to the Central Meteorological Observatory (now called theJapan Meteorological Agency),maximum sustained winds reached 150 km/h (90 mph),[3] with gusts exceeding 215 km/h (130 mph).[4]
The typhoon first madelandfall overMuroto,Kōchi Prefecture, resulting in it later being dubbed the "Muroto typhoon".[4] A then-world record lowbarometric pressure for a land station of 911.9 hPa (26.93 inHg) was observed in Muroto.[5][6][7] Though surpassed less than a year later during the1935 Labor Day hurricane in theFlorida Keys,[8] it remains the lowest value ever observed in mainland Japan and the third-lowest throughout the country.[5][6] It briefly emerged over theKii Channel before striking theKaifu District inTokushima Prefecture. The system then crossed the Kii Channel again and traversedAwaji Island. After another brief stint over water, the storm made its next landfall directly overKobe,Hyōgo Prefecture, just 30 km (19 mi) west ofOsaka City. Abarometric pressure of 954.3 hPa (28.18 inHg) was observed in Osaka.[4] Crossing mainland Japan, the storm briefly emerged over theSea of Japan before traversing northern Honshu.[2]
Pronouncedfrontal features, a characteristic ofextratropical cyclones, developed late on September 21, with acold front extending south toward thePhilippines.[9] The system continued on an easterly course and was last noted in the International Best Track Archive on September 22 moving away fromHokkaido.[2]Surface weather analyses depict the system continuing east, crossing theInternational Date Line (180°) by September 23. During this time, its central pressure rose to roughly 985–990 mbar (hPa; 29.09–29.34 inHg).[10][11] On September 24, the storm turned north toward theAleutian Islands of the thenTerritory of Alaska and deepened.[12] Winds up to Force 10—89 to 102 km/h (55 to 63 mph)—on theBeaufort scale affected parts of the Aleutians and a pressure of 964 mbar (hPa; 28.47 inHg) was observed near48°00′N160°30′W / 48°N 160.5°W /48; -160.5.[13] Traversing theBering Sea, the system was last identifiable on September 25 over western Alaska.[14]
Contemporaneously called the "second-greatest catastrophe of modern Japan",[15] and the "worst typhoon in a generation",[3] the storm wrought tremendous damage in Shikoku and southern Honshu, with areas in and around Osaka suffering the brunt of its impact.[3] The effects, at the time, were second only to the1923 Great Kantō earthquake.[15] Throughout Japan, 3,066 people were killed,[16] of which at least 1,665 deaths were inOsaka Prefecture, and 13,184 others were injured.[17] This ranked it as the deadliest typhoon in Japanese history, untilTyphoon Vera in 1959 which killed approximately 5,000 people.[18][19] A total of 34,262 buildings were destroyed, another 40,274 were severely damaged,[17] and 401,157 were flooded or affected.[20] Total damage far exceeded $300 million (1934 USD).[15] Approximately 200,000 people were rendered homeless in Osaka,[17] and at least 250,000 required assistance.[21]
InKōchi Prefecture, where the storm first made landfall, powerful wind gusts—measured up to 234 km/h (145 mph)—caused tremendous damage. Torrential rain accompanied the storm. Throughout Kōchi, 1,815 homes were destroyed and 6,064 were damaged or flooded; 81 people died and 399 more sustained injuries.[22] Sixty-three people died in Muroto when the typhoon'sstorm surge swept away 550 homes.[23]
The greatest damage, however, took place across eastern Osaka Bay. A maximum tide of 3.1 to 4.2 m (10 to 14 ft) was observed there, the highest ever for the region.[4][6] Areas up to 8 km (5.0 mi) inland were inundated by the typhoon's storm surge,[20] total of 49.31 km2 (19.04 mi2) of the city was flooded.[4] The city of Osaka was crippled by the typhoon, electricity was completely lost, the water supply network sustained significant damage, and communications were disrupted. Powerful winds devastated the city's poorly built schools,[3] destroying 128 buildings.[24] Within them, at least 421 children and teachers were killed, while 1,100 others sustained injury.[3] One teacher, Masuji Ashida, was hailed as a hero for sacrificing himself to save his students by propping up the exit of his collapsing classroom with his own body; his students escaped before he was crushed under the weight of the building.[21] An insane asylum along the city's outskirts was swept away with 60 patients missing.[3] A five-storypagoda (built in 1812) at theShitennō-ji temple collapsed, killing 3 people and trapping 20 others.[20] The Sotojima hospital forleprosy was destroyed; 260 patients are believed to have drowned after the building collapsed amid rising water and gale-force winds.[15] NearŌtsu, a passenger train derailed, killing 10 people and injuring 165.[3]
The city's industrial sector sustained severe losses, exceeding US$90 million.[25] More than 3,000 factories were destroyed and thousands more were damaged.[15] The Japanese Army's munitions program was significantly setback due to destroyed ammunition factories.[25] At least 100 people drowned in the city's harbor where more than 1,600 seagoing craft were grounded, sunk, or otherwise damaged.[15]
Thirty of the nation's thenforty-six prefectures were impacted by the typhoon.[25] Significant damage took place inAichi,Gifu,Kyoto,Nagano,Nagasaki,Tokushima,Tottori,Wakayama, andYamanashi prefectures.[21][24] InKyoto, at least 209 people were killed and 858 were injured.[21][24]
Immediately following the typhoon's tremendous impact, the Japanese military was deployed to Osaka before nightfall on September 21 and water was being trucked in.[24] Officials in Osaka Prefecture released an immediate ¥10 million in relief funds.[21] Baron Kischizaemon Sumitomo donated ¥1 million (US$300,000) to relief funds, the largest such private donation in the nation's history at the time.[25] TheCabinet of Japan held a special meeting to discuss emergency operations.[21] Threedestroyers from theKure Naval District, loaded with medical equipment and other essentials, were deployed to assist in relief work.[25] Outbreaks oftyphoid fever,dysentery, andscarlet fever plagued survivors in the storm's aftermath.[26]
During an October 5 cabinet meeting, Minister of EducationGenji Matsuda recommended schools to be built with steel in light of the large number of children killed.[27] Reconstruction of the affected areas required an estimated 100,000 tons of steel.[28] TheNational Diet held a special meeting in November to address issues regarding the typhoon's aftermath.[29]
Following the disaster, a marked increase in actions and countermeasures to storm surge events and typhoons were enacted. Throughout Osaka, construction ofbreakwaters and embankments alleviated flood risks in coastal communities, reducing the risk of life[note 1] from roughly 10−3 to 10−7 by the time ofTyphoon Nancy in 1961. Before the onset ofWorld War II, total anti-flood construction in Osaka spanned 36.68 km (22.79 mi); this included 16.52 km (10.27 mi) along rivers and canals, 11.08 km (6.88 mi) oflevees, and 11.08 km (6.88 mi) of breakwaters. These protected the city from surges of 3.5 m (11 ft) above Osaka Port. Several other projects to expand and rebuild the anti-flood system took place in the decades following World War II.[4]
According to a 2010 report by the Central Disaster Prevention Council, if a storm identical to the 1934 Muroto typhoon were to strike in the modern day, it would kill approximately 7,600 people.[30]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
Media related to1934 Muroto typhoon at Wikimedia Commons
