Typhoon Paka

Typhoon Paka, named Rubing by PAGASA, was an extremely powerful and long-lived storm that devastated Guam and the Marshall Islands in December 1997, produced the second-highest accumulated cyclone energy—a metric used to measure the total energy generated by tropical cyclones—of any individual cyclone on record in the basin. One of the strongest Pacific typhoons ever recorded in December, Paka was the last tropical cyclone of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season and 1997 Pacific typhoon season and the last of a record eleven super typhoons that formed in 1997. Paka developed on 28 November from a trough well to the southwest of Hawaii. The storm tracked generally westward for much of its duration, and on 7 December it crossed into the western Pacific Ocean. Much of its track was characterized by fluctuations in intensity, and on 10 December the cyclone attained typhoon status as it crossed the Marshall Islands. On 16 December, Paka struck Guam and Rota with winds of 230 km/h (140 mph), and it strengthened further to reach peak winds on 18 December over open waters as the final super typhoon of the year. Subsequently, it underwent a steady weakening trend, and on 23 December, Paka dissipated. Typhoon Paka first impacted the Marshall Islands, where it dropped heavy rainfall and left US$80 million in damages. Later, it passed just north of Guam, where strong winds destroyed about 1,500 buildings and damaged 10,000 more; 5,000 people were left homeless, and the island experienced a complete power outage following the typhoon. Damage on the island totaled US$500 million, which warranted the retirement of its name. Paka also caused minor damage in the Northern Mariana Islands, and overall, the typhoon did not cause any reported fatalities.