Five of the biggest typhoons to hit Asia – as Tropical Cyclone Kompasu buffets Hong Kong and southern China

From Typhoon Vera, which remains the strongest and deadliest typhoon to have ravaged Japan, to Typhoon Haiyan that killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines, we recall the worst typhoons on record in the region

Reading Time:3 minutes

A military aircraft passes over a destroyed area of Tacloban City, the Philippines, after Typhoon Haiyan ripped through it in 2013. Photo: Alamy

Published: 6:00pm, 9 Jul 2018Updated: 8:29am, 14 Oct 2021

Days after Hong Kong was rocked by Typhoon Lionrock, the city’s longest lasting signal 8 typhoon since severe tropical storm Agnes in July 1978, the city was buffeted by Typhoon Kompasu.

The No 8 typhoon signal was up for even longer than for Lionrock, and was finally lowered in late afternoon as Kompasu headed for Hainan in southern China. The storm brought heavy rains and gusty winds; although less severe than those triggered by Lionrock, and 20 people were injured and one killed by Kompasu, the Hospital Authority said. Lionrock triggered widespread flooding and caused one death.

East Asia has experienced many deadly storms, some of which had unexpected consequences. For example, in 1962 typhoon Wanda, which hit Hong Kong directly, was accompanied by a storm surge that left communities in low-lying coastal areas in ruins. Some 130 people were confirmed dead, with a further 53 missing.

As the city braces for Tropical Cyclone Kompasu, we look back at some of the most destructive and deadliest storms to have struck the region in recorded history.

The aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut is seen in Sheung Shui, in the northern New Territories, after it struck Hong Kong in September 2018. Photo: Sam Tsang

Typhoon Mangkhut, 2018

Mangkhut was officially Hong Kong’s most intense storm since records began, a storm that left 394 people in the city injured, uprooted some 1,500 trees and left hundreds of windows smashed. The storm caused 127 deaths in the Philippines, six in mainland China and one in Taiwan.