1991 жылғы Тынық мұхитындағы тайфун Мирейль

Pacific typhoon in 1991

Typhoon Mireille, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rosing, was the costliest typhoon on record, until it was surpassed by Typhoon Doksuri in 2023. Striking Japan in September 1991, it became the 20th named storm of the 1991 Pacific typhoon season, Mireille formed on September 13 from the monsoon trough near the Marshall Islands. It moved westward for several days as a small system, steered by the subtropical ridge to the north. The storm rapidly intensified to typhoon status on September 16, and several days later passed north of Saipan in the Northern Marianas Islands. Mireille intensified further after deleterious effects from a nearby tropical storm subsided. On September 22, the American based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated maximum 1 minute sustained winds of , and on the next day, the official Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) estimated 10‑minute sustained winds of The typhoon weakened slightly while turning northward, passing just east of Miyako jima and later to the west of Okinawa. On September 27, Mireille made landfall near Nagasaki in southwestern Japan with winds of , the strongest since Typhoon Nancy in 1961. The storm accelerated to the northeast through the Sea of Japan, moving over Hokkaido before becoming extratropical on September 28. The remnants of Mireille continued to the east, passing through the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on October 1. The typhoon first threatened Guam, although it passed well to the north of the island, bringing damaging winds to northern Saipan. The first part of Japan affected was Miyako jima, where heavy rainfall and high winds damaged crops. Mireille lashed Okinawa with strong waves, while strong winds up to damaged power lines and trees. The typhoon ultimately caused damage in 41 of 47 prefectures of Japan, with overall damage estimated at $10 billion (1991 USD, $22.5 billion in 2023), making it the costliest typhoon on record as of 2017. Mireille produced record wind gusts at 26 locations, with a peak gust of in western Honshu. The winds caused record power outages across Japan that affected 7.36 million people, or about 13% of total customers. Mireille also left extensive crop damage totaling $3 billion, mostly to the apple industry, after 345,000 tons of apples fell to the ground and another 43,000 were damaged on the trees. The storm damaged over 670,000 houses, of which 1,058 were destroyed, and another 22,965 were flooded. Throughout Japan, Mireille killed 66 people and injured another 2,862 people, including ten deaths on a capsized freighter. Elsewhere, the typhoon killed two people in South Korea, and its remnants brought strong winds to Alaska.

The origins of Mireille were from a poorly organized area of convection, or thunderstorms, associated with the monsoon trough near the Marshall Islands on September 13. That day, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) began tracking the system as a tropical depression. The system moved westward, developing a large increase in thunderstorms over the center on September 15. That day, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert, and issued their first advisory on Tropical Depression 21W at 00:00 UTC, estimating 1 minute sustained winds of About six hours later, the agency upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Mireille, after satellite imagery indicated the storm was very compact and intensifying quickly. Also at the time of it attaining tropical storm status, Mireille was one of three storms in the basin, along with Tropical Storm Luke to the northwest and Typhoon Nat to the west in the South China Sea. After crossing the dateline, Mireille's remnants turned northeast and struck the Seward Peninsula on October 3 before moving over Arctic Alaska. The system then moved over the Arctic Ocean where it was last noted on October 4.

Early tropical cyclone computer models anticipated Mireille would pass close to Guam, prompting officials to undergo preparations for the storm. The storm ultimately passed north of Saipan, causing damage along the island's northern portion. Mireille knocked over trees and damaged over 70% of Saipan's crops while also eroding coastal roads. A South Korean freighter rode out the storm at the port in Hakata Bay. killing all 10 crew members.

Ahead of the storm, the JMA issued 99 typhoon bulletins, warning residents about Mireille. There were 236 warnings related to storm surge, high winds, waves, and flooding. In Hiroshima, most residents were aware of the approaching storm, about 70% of residents did not expect significant effects. In general, residents were unprepared for the storm, partly due to the lack of recent storms. and road, rail, and ferry traffic was halted. In Hokkaido, 207 schools were closed due to the storm. It was the third storm to strike Japan in two weeks. The storm damaged over 670,000 houses, of which 1,058 were destroyed, Along the coast, the typhoon damaged 930 ships, Sea spray heavily damaged fruit trees and rice paddies. Persistent cloudiness and rainfall following the storm diminished sunlight by 50%, furthering crop damage. There were 62 deaths in Japan and 2,862 injuries, The $6 billion in insured losses and $10 billion in overall damage made Mireille the costliest typhoon on record as of January 2015, according to Munich Re. When Mireille moved through western Japan, it brought strong winds and heavy rainfall. The highest sustained wind was at Nomozaki, Nagasaki, Mireille produced record wind gusts at 26 locations and record sustained winds at 12 locations. At landfall, Mireille produced winds of at least across a diameter of Mireille also dropped heavy rainfall, mostly on Shikoku, peaking at at Kito, Tokushima. In nearby Kōchi Prefecture, the heaviest hourly rainfall total was , the highest in the nation for the storm. Mireille first passed near Miyako jima, dropping of rainfall there. Wind gusts on the island reached , which caused some crop damage to sugar cane and vegetables. All flights were canceled as Mireille passed the island. Later, the typhoon bypassed Okinawa to the west. The island experienced winds of at least for 27 hours, with gusts of at Kadena Air Base. Mireille produced heavy rainfall on Okinawa, totaling , which allowed water restrictions there to be lifted for the rest of the year. The storm also left heavy damage to the agriculture and forest industries.|group="nb"|name="jpy" which buried several houses in Miyazaki Prefecture and forced 75 people to evacuate. The high wind knocked over many cypress or cedar trees, totaling and accounting for ¥64 billion (US$530 million) in damage in Ōita Prefecture alone. Damage was heaviest near Nagasaki, where 16 people were killed, A construction worker in nearby Isahaya was killed when the winds struck him with a prebuilt hut, and airborne debris killed five people in Kumamoto Prefecture and seven in Fukuoka Prefecture. Throughout Kyushu, about 2 million people lost power. Throughout Kyushu, about 2 million people lost power. A record storm surge, in conjunction with high winds, damaged a school in Sakaide, as well as a floating pier and coastal road in nearby Ehime Prefecture. Rough surf swept away a woman in Matsuyama. The storm track brought Mireille west of the most populated island of Honshu, limiting damage there compared to Kyushu. At Misawa Air Base, the strong winds knocked over trees and blew off the roofs of several warehouses, and also knocked off storage sheds off their foundation. Ahead of the storm, advance warning allowed the American military to shelter aircraft and warn the population. Damage was estimated between $500,000–$1.5 million. Also in the city, 1.1 million residents, or 80% of households, lost power due to winds and storm surge. The strong winds and waves damaged the Itsukushima Shrine near Hiroshima and Kenroku en northwest of Tokyo. In Okayama Prefecture, salt spray damaged railways and shut down lines for three days. High winds in Naka ku collapsed scaffolding from a parking garage, and another damaged scaffolding nearby forced a road to shut down. There were extensive crop losses in northern Honshu. Striking Hokkaido with much of its former intensity, Mireille produced strong winds across the island. Hakodate Airport reported a peak gust of , and the highest sustained wind was in Urakawa. Along the coast, waves reached high at Matsumae, Light rains occurred on the island, reaching in Hidaka.

By a day after the storm made landfall, the record power outages were largely restored. However, salt damage prevented restoration in some areas for several days. Due to the severity of damage and loss of life caused by the storm, the name Mireille was retired and replaced with Melissa.