Typhoon Ida (1958)

Typhoon Ida, also known as the Kanogawa Typhoon (狩野川台風, Kanogawa Taifū), was the sixth-deadliest typhoon to hit Japan, as well as one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record. On September 20, Ida formed in the Western Pacific near Guam. It moved to the west and rapidly intensified into a 185 km/h (115 mph) typhoon by the next day. On September 22, Ida turned to the north and continued its quick rate of intensification. Two days later, the Hurricane Hunters observed a minimum barometric pressure of 877 mb (25.9 inHg), as well as estimated peak winds of 325 km/h (202 mph). This made Ida the strongest tropical cyclone on record at the time, although it was surpassed by Typhoon Nora 15 years later. Ida weakened as it continued to the north-northeast, and made landfall in Japan on southeastern Honshū with winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) on September 26. It became extratropical the next day, and dissipated on the September 28 to the east of the country. Catastrophic damage was inflicted by the typhoon upon its landfall. Ida caused torrential flooding to southeastern Japan, resulting in over 1,900 mudslides. Damage was estimated at $50 million, and there were 1,269 fatalities, making it one of the deadliest Japanese typhoons. The typhoon was regarded as the worst to strike Japan since the 1934 Muroto typhoon. Following the storm, the United States military provided relief effort to the affected regions.