Typhoon Patsy

Pacific typhoon in 1970

Typhoon Patsy, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yoling, was the twenty seventh named storm, twelfth typhoon, and seventh super typhoon of the 1970 Pacific typhoon season. On November 14, 1970, a tropical disturbance organized sufficiently to be designated a tropical depression. A steady intensification carried Tropical Storm Patsy's windspeeds up to 155 mph (250 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 918 mbar. It made landfall in Luzon with sustained winds of 130 mph (210 km/h) on November 19. After emerging in the South China Sea, Patsy remained at tropical storm strength. It struck Vietnam during the Vietnam War as a weak tropical storm on November 22. The 8 day old cyclone dissipated shortly after its final landfall. US$80 million ($403 million in 2005) in damage was reported to have been caused by Patsy, though the total was likely higher. Deaths were officially reported to be 241, but an estimated 30 people unofficially died in Vietnam, raising the toll to 271+. An additional 351 people were reported missing. The total deaths and damage will likely never be known, as the Vietnam War was raging at the same time.

A tropical disturbance was spotted south southeast of Wake Island on November 10 close to the International Date Line and moved west. Warm waters and weakened shear allowed the storm to organize into Tropical Depression 27W on November 14 near the Marianas Islands. A strong ridge to its north forced it westward, where it upgraded to tropical storm status later on November 14, receiving the name Patsy. missing. Damage totals came in at US$80 million (US$403 million in 2005), mostly in the Philippines.

Typhoon Patsy was one of the deadliest typhoons to strike the Philippines in its history. 106 people were killed (with 351 others missing) on the island, and 135 people were killed at sea from shipping failures. The USS President Taft was separated from its anchorage and collided with the Alikimon, a Greek vessel, while in Manila Bay. Another two ships were blown ashore in the Bay. On land, 31,380 of the refugees' homes were either destroyed or damaged. The mass destruction caused in the Metro Manila National Capital Region, then known as the Greater Manila area, mainly by many being caught almost totally unprepared, destroyed many power lines and well into the next month, where many areas in the metropolis still waiting for electric power to be restored.

Patsy was the deadliest tropical cyclone to strike Manila since the establishment of the Philippine Weather Bureau in 1865 until 2009 when Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) affected the Philippine capital Manila, along with nearby provinces.