Portal:Tropical cyclones/featured article/Typhoon Bart (1999)

Typhoon Bart at peak strength

Super Typhoon Bart (Oniang) (International designation 24W) was a powerful and destructive typhoon of the 1999 Pacific typhoon season. It was the only super typhoon of the year. It was the costliest storm of the year, causing $5 billion dollars in damage. Tropical Depression 24W developed on September 17, to the east of Taiwan. The storm drifted to the northwest, becoming Tropical Storm Bart on September 19 and reaching typhoon strength the next day. Bart intensified further as it turned to the northeast under the influence of upper-level winds. Typhoon Bart reached its peak on September 22 with 260 km/h (160 mph) winds when it passed 75 km (47 mi) to the west of Okinawa, becoming the only Super Typhoon during 1999. Bart began to weaken slowly as it continued north towards Kyūshū, Japan, which it struck on September 23 with 185 km/h (115 mph) winds. After crossing Kyūshū and westernmost Honshū the storm accelerated to the northeast in the Sea of Japan, becoming extratropical shortly before it reached northern Hokkaidō. As Typhoon Bart formed in PAGASA's area of responsibility, it was named Oniang by PAGASA before moving to the north. Typhoon Bart claimed at least two lives on Okinawa and brought over 710 mm (28 inches) of rain to the island. Kadena Air Base was badly damaged by the typhoon with over $5 million of damage on the base. Heavy flooding and landslides led to total of a 30 deaths and over 1,000 injuries in Japan. Over 800,000 homes lost power and 80,000 damaged in the aftermath of the storm. The worst damage was in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyūshū, where 16 people died and over 45,000 homes were damaged. Bart affected the whole of Japan, with some minor damages occurring in Hokkaidō shortly after the storm became extratropical.