List of Pacific typhoons before 1900


This article documents Pacific typhoon seasons that occurred during the early 20th century and earlier.
The list is very incomplete; information on early typhoon seasons is patchy and relies heavily on individual observations of travellers and ships. There were no comprehensive records kept by a central organisation at this early time.

Meteorology

tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the international date line in Oceania and East Asia.
Storms that form in the Pacific east of the date line and north of the equator in Oceania, North America, Central America, and northwestern South America are called Pacific hurricanes. Storms that form in the Pacific south of the equator in southern Oceania, Southeast Maritime Asia, and western South America are called South Pacific tropical cyclones.

Historical typhoons

Pre-1600s

In 957, a powerful typhoon struck near Hong Kong, killing at least 10,000 people. Another powerful typhoon struck the area in 1245, killing around 10,000 people.
In 1281, according to Japanese legend, the Kamikaze typhoon destroyed the 2,200 ships of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, that were in Hakata Bay for attempting an invasion of Japan. Legends tells of 45,000 to 65,000 Mongol and Korean casualties from the typhoon.
There were several storms between the Philippines and Guam in 1566. A typhoon struck the Philippines in August 1568. A typhoon affected Manila in June 1589. Three typhoons struck the Philippines between September and October 1596, one of which killed more than six people. There were also typhoons in October 1598 and 1599.

1600s

A typhoon struck the Philippines in May 1601, August 1602, July 1603, and August 1606. There were multiple typhoons in the Philippines in October and November 1608. Typhoons affected the Philippines in October 1617, August 1620, and May 1621. Two typhoons affected the Philippines in 1629 - in January and August. Another January typhoon occurred in 1630. Typhoons were observed in September and November 1638. Two typhoons struck the Philippines in 1639; one in August killed 750 people. A typhoon in October 1649 killed 200 people in the Philippines. A typhoon in May 1654 caused a shipwreck in the Philippines. There were three deadly typhoons in the Philippines in 1659. The first recorded storm to strike Guam was on October 6, 1671, which destroyed most of the houses on the island, and killed several people. Another typhoon struck Guam in November 1681, again destroying most of the island's houses. Typhoons affected the Philippines in July 1686 and September 1687. A typhoon struck Guam in November 1693, killing 14 people. In July 1694, a typhoon caused a shipwreck in the Philippines, killing more than 400 people. Another typhoon affected the Philippines in November 1697.

1700s

A typhoon struck the Philippines in July 1704. In September 1707, a typhoon affected the Philippines. A typhoon existed in the South China Sea in August 1708. There were four typhoons in 1709. A storm struck the Philippines in October 1711. A strong typhoon existed in July 1717. In 1720, a typhoon affected Guam. In July 1726, a typhoon affected Ticao Island in the Philippines. A typhoon struck Guam in December 1733, damaging crops and trees. There was a typhoon in December 1734. A typhoon struck Macau in September 1738. There were four typhoons in 1742. In December 1752, a typhoon killed at least one person in the Philippines. There were two typhoons in 1753. There was a typhoon in December 1754 and in December 1757. A typhoon moved through the Philippines during the Battle of Manila in September 1762. Two typhoons struck the Philippines in 1766, including one in October that killed at least 48 people. A typhoon in October 1767 killed at least 500 people in San Mateo in the northern Philippines. There were two typhoons in 1768, resulting in at least one fatality. A typhoon affected southern China in May 1769. A typhoon sank a ship in May 1772. In September 1779, a typhoon moved through the northern Philippines. There were three typhoons in 1780, including a typhoon in July 1780 that killed around 100,000 people near Macau and Hong Kong; this ranked among the deadliest tropical cyclones on record. There was a typhoon in the Philippines in August 1782. A typhoon struck Palau in August 1783. In 1792, a typhoon destroyed several buildings on Guam. Three typhoons struck the Philippines in 1793, including one that killed at least four people. A typhoon moved through the Philippines in 1795. Three typhoons struck the Philippines in 1797.

1800–49

A typhoon struck the Philippines in October 1801 and September 1802. Two typhoons struck the Philippines in September 1803. A typhoon struck the Philippines in October 1804, September 1809, September 1810, October 1812, September 1819, September 1820, and October 1821. A typhoon struck Guam in December 1822. A typhoon struck the Philippines in October 1824. Two typhoons were recorded in 1824 and 1825, both at Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands.
In 1826, a typhoon in Okinawa caused 30 deaths and destroyed thousands of houses. Over 100 fishing boats were lost and 2,200 people died in the subsequent famine. There was also a typhoon in the Philippines in September of that year. There was a typhoon in October 1827 in the Philippines. In 1828, a typhoon hit Nagasaki causing an estimated 14,429 deaths on the shore of the Ariake Sea. This was the highest death toll from any typhoon in Japanese history. The German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold was present during this storm and succeeded in taking barometric pressure readings around Nagasaki at the risk of drowning. The storm was formerly named after him.
There were three typhoons in 1829. There was a typhoon in the Philippines in 1830. There were two typhoons in 1831, including one in the Philippines that killed around 150 people. There were two typhoons in 1832, in 1833, and in 1835. Also in 1835, a typhoon was recorded at Yaeyama in the Ryukyu Islands. There was a typhoon in the Philippines in 1838. There were three typhoons in 1839.
Around 1840, a typhoon killed around 300 people in Likiep Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
There were four tropical cyclones in 1841, including three typhoons. There was one typhoon in 1842. There were one typhoon in the Philippines in 1843.
There were four tropical cyclones in 1844, including three typhoons. In November, a typhoon struck the Philippines and killed 32 people. A typhoon hit Miyako in the Ryukyu Islands. Over 2,000 houses were destroyed.
There were two tropical cyclones in 1845, including a typhoon that struck the Philippines and killed 12 people.
There were two tropical cyclones in 1846, including one typhoon.
There were three typhoons in 1848.

1850s

1850

A typhoon struck Manila Bay in the Philippines in May. Around 1850, a typhoon killed about 50 people on Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

1851

A typhoon struck Passi in the Philippines in December.

1852

;Typhoon at Miyako
Typhoon recorded at Miyako in the Ryukyu Islands. Miyako was also hit by a storm surge. 3,000 people died in the subsequent famine and disease.
A typhoon was also reported near Vietnam.

1853

On 17 July, ships near Okinawa reported falling pressure and increasing winds, a sign of an approaching storm. During the subsequent days, swells became stronger as the storm moved toward northeastern China. On 22 July, the barometer aboard USS Supply subsided to, and winds increased to force-10. The winds split the inner jib and the foresail of the British schooner Eament. The storm stalled off the east coast of China, and when the Eament encountered the eye, it reported a barometric pressure of. Turning back east, the storm moved through the Ryukyu Islands. The ship-based observations suggest a spatially enormous, slow moving tropical storm in the East China Sea, and force-6 winds continued to be reported through 31 July.
In September 1853, a typhoon struck Guam.

1854

Typhoons were recorded at Okinawa in 1854.

1855

A typhoon struck Guam in September.

1858

There were two tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1858, one of which was a typhoon.

1860s

1862

A typhoon struck near Hong Kong, killing around 80,000 people.

1863

There were four typhoons in the western Pacific in 1863. A typhoon in December killed 49 people in the Philippines.

1864

A typhoon in 1864 struck Hong Kong.

1865

There were 8 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1865, 7 of which was a typhoon.

1866

There were 5 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1866, 3 of which was a typhoon. A typhoon in June killed five people, and another typhoon in September killed four people.

1867

There were five typhoons in the western Pacific in 1867. A typhoon in September killed 1,800 people when it rose the waters of the Abra River.

1868

There were two typhoons in the western Pacific in 1868.

1869

There were 3 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1869, 1 of which was a typhoon.

1870s

1870

There were 8 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1870, 6 of which were typhoons.

1871

There were 7 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1871, 5 of which were typhoons. In March, 11 people died when a typhoon wrecked their boat.

1872

There were 4 tropical cyclones in the Philippines in 1872, 2 of which were typhoons. In August 1872, a typhoon struck Guam.

1873

There were 6 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1873, 4 of which were typhoons. A typhoon in October killed at least 200 people in the Philippines.

1874

There were 8 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1874, 6 of which were typhoons.
The 1874 Hong Kong typhoon hit Hong Kong during the night of Tuesday 22 September and the morning of Wednesday 23 September 1874. It killed about 10,000 people. A typhoon struck Ailinglaplap in the Marshall Islands, killing more than 300 people.

1875

There were 6 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1875, 4 of which were typhoons. A typhoon in December killed four people in the Philippines.

1877

There were two typhoons in the western Pacific in 1876. One of them struck the Philippines in November, killing 150 people.

1877

There were at least one tropical cyclone in the western Pacific in 1877.

1878

There were 4 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1878, 3 of which were typhoons.

1879

There were 9 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1879, 8 of which were typhoons.

1880s

1880

There were 3 typhoons in the western Pacific in 1880.

1881

There were 22 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1881, 21 of which intensified into typhoons.
In October, a powerful typhoon hit what is now the Philippines, before curving around Hainan Island and devastating Haiphong, Vietnam. Up to 300,000 people were killed by the typhoon, tying it for the tied second deadliest tropical cyclone on record. With 20,000 fatalities in the Philippines, the typhoon is also the deadliest there on record.

1882

There were 12 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1882, 11 of which intensified into typhoons.

1883

There were 16 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1883, 15 of which intensified into typhoons.

1884

There were 14 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1884.

1885

There were 9 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1885.

1886

There were 15 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1886.

1887

There were 21 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1887.

1888

There were 13 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1888.

1889

There were 12 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1889.

1890s

1890

There were 14 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1890.

1891

There were 18 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1891.

1892

There were 20 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1892.

1893

There were 20 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1893.

1894

There were 14 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1894.
A tropical storm was first reported on October 1, which quickly moved westward across the Philippine archipelago. It moved northwestward through the South China Sea and slowed its forward motion. Over 27 hours, the system brought gale-force winds to Hong Kong, the longest duration as of 1955, due to the storm's slow movement and landfall on southern China on October 5. The storm also dropped of rainfall over 24 hours, making it the wettest storm in Hong Kong as of 1955. On the next day, the storm dissipated after turning to the northeast.

1895

There were 16 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1895.

1896

There were 18 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1896.
A tropical cyclone was observed on July 26 to the east of the Philippines. The system moved quickly to the northwest, crossing the extreme northern Luzon island on July 28. Next day, the storm struck southeastern China near Hong Kong, dissipating on July 30. At Hong Kong, where the storm produced winds of 128 km/h continuously for one hour, which was the highest hourly wind speed there as of 1955.

1897

There were 13 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1897.

1898

There were 19 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1898.

1899

There were 19 tropical cyclones in the western Pacific in 1899.
;April + May
On April 23 a tropical storm was reported southeast of Guam. It moved northwest and passed very close to Guam before moving to the north. It dissipated on April 28.
On May 18 a typhoon appeared to the east of Visayan Islands and moved inland on May 21. After crossing over into the South China Sea the storm moved northward. It passed through the Taiwan Strait between the 26 and 27 of May. On May 28 the storm was pushed out to sea by an advancing cold front and absorbed on May 29.
;June + July
On June 27 a typhoon was detected to the southeast of Manila. It passed to the south through central Luzon island during June 28. It continued northwest and made landfall on the island of Hainan on July 1. The storm later dissipated inland near the borders of Vietnam and China on July 3. There is some indication of damage at Sambonya, with a passing of a steamer noting all the buildings being nearly destroyed with few people seen.
On July 2 a typhoon was spotted to the south of Okinawa Islands. It moved north over the following days, reaching violent intensities, it brushed past the islands to the east on July 6 and 7. It continued north reaching Japan by July 8, briefly moved into the Sea of Japan, and dissipated on the Korean Peninsula on July 10. A minimal pressure of 956 millibars was recorded at Oshima.