Tropical Storm Vera (1989)

Tropical Storm Vera (Pining)
Tropical Storm Vera on September 13, 1989 with winds of 60 mph and a pressure of 985 mbar
Meteorological history
FormedSeptember 11, 1989
DissipatedSeptember 16, 1989
Severe tropical storm
10-minute sustained (JMA)
Highest winds95 km/h (60 mph)
Lowest pressure980 hPa (mbar); 28.94 inHg
Tropical storm
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds100 km/h (65 mph)
Lowest pressure980 hPa (mbar); 28.94 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities500–700 total
Injuries> 882
Missing> 354
Damage$351 million (1989 USD)
Areas affected

Part of the 1989 Pacific typhoon season

Tropical Storm Vera, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Pining, originated from a system that began to develop within a monsoon trough several hundred kilometers north of Guam on September 10. The JTWC issued a TCFA early on September 11, and the system was classified as a tropical depression later that day. The depression moved slowly and erratically at first, but then it was steered west-northwest by a subtropical ridge. It strengthened into a tropical storm, being named Vera, and reached its peak intensity with winds of 95 km/h (60 mph). The storm then weakened due to increasing wind shear and made landfall in China. It weakened further and became an extratropical cyclone on September 16. The remnants of the storm moved east-northeast over South Korea and Japan before dissipating on September 19.

Vera caused widespread flooding throughout Eastern China, with the worst damage occurring in Zhejiang Province, which reached $351 million (1989 USD), and at least 162 people were killed in and 354 were missing. 882 people were injured, and 3.1 million homes were damaged or destroyed. Additionally, significant losses also occurred in nearby Jiangsu Province, where 34 people were killed and an estimated 2,000 more were injured. Throughout eastern China, approximately 5.86 million households (23 million people) were affected by flooding triggered by the storm. According to news estimates, a total of 500–700 people died as a result of Vera.