Typhoon Nora Dissipates

Date: October 11, 1973 • Location: Beijing, China

Typhoon Nora, the fourth-most intense tropical cyclone on record, dissipated after killing 40 people and leaving more than a million homeless across Taiwan and the Philippines.

Typhoon Nora, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Luming, is tied for the third-most intense tropical cyclone on record. Originating from an area of low pressure over the western Pacific, Nora was first identified as a tropical depression on October 2, 1973. Tracking generally westward, the system gradually intensified, attaining typhoon status the following evening. After turning northwestward, the typhoon underwent a period of rapid intensification, during which its central pressure decreased by 77 mb in 24 hours. At the end of this phase, Nora peaked with winds of 295 km/h (185 mph) and a pressure of 875 mb, making it the most-intense tropical cyclone on record at the time; however, this pressure has since been tied with Typhoon June, and surpassed by Typhoon Tip and Hurricane Patricia. The typhoon subsequently weakened and turned northwestward as it approached the Philippines. After brushing Luzon on October 7, the system passed south of Taiwan and ultimately made landfall in China on October 10. Once onshore, Nora quickly weakened and dissipated the following day.