Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: What was  the biggest typhoon?
At the end of September 1979, three circulations developed within the monsoon trough that extended from the Philippines to the Marshall Islands. The westernmost disturbance developed into a tropical depression on October 1, to the west of Luzon, which would later become Typhoon Sarah on October 7. On October 3, the disturbance southwest of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Roger, and later on the same day, a third tropical disturbance that would later become Typhoon Tip formed south of Pohnpei. Strong flow from across the equator was drawn into Roger's wind circulation, initially preventing significant development of the precursor disturbance to Tip. Despite the unfavorable air pattern, the tropical disturbance gradually organized as it moved westward. Due to the large-scale circulation pattern of Tropical Storm Roger, Tip's precursor moved erratically and slowly executed a cyclonic loop to the southeast of Chuuk. A reconnaissance aircraft flight into the system late on October 4 confirmed the existence of a closed low-level circulation, and early on October 5, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued its first warning on Tropical Depression Twenty-Three-W.
While executing a loop near Chuuk, the tropical depression intensified into Tropical Storm Tip, though the storm failed to organize significantly due to the influence of Tropical Storm Roger. Reconnaissance aircraft provided the track of the surface circulation, since satellite imagery estimated the center was about from its true position. After drifting erratically for several days, Tip began a steady northwest motion on October 8. By that time, Tropical Storm Roger had become an extratropical cyclone, resulting in the southerly flow to be entrained into Tip. An area of a tropical upper tropospheric trough moved north of Guam at the time, providing an excellent outflow channel north of Tip. Initially, Tip was predicted to continue northwestward and make landfall on Guam, though instead, it turned to the west early on October 9, passing about south of Guam. Later that day, Tip intensified to attain typhoon status.
Tropical cyclogenesis first occurred in the month of June, with two tropical depressions developing in the Atlantic. However, no tropical cyclones developed in the month of July, the first phenomenon since 1993. In August, five tropical cyclones developed, most notably, Hurricane Alberto. September was more active, with seven named storms forming; that month featured Hurricane Keith, the strongest system of the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season. With seven named storms forming in September, this made it the most active September on record at the time. This record was surpassed two years later when eight storms formed in September. In addition, a quick succession of eight storms occurred in September, and lasted into early October. Six tropical cyclones existed in October and one additional subtropical storm developed in the last week of the month. Following an active October, no tropical cyclogenesis occurred in November, which is the final month of the season.
The 1995–96 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was a moderately active season that included Cyclone Bonita, which was the first known tropical cyclone to cross from the southern Indian Ocean into the southern Atlantic Ocean. Tropical activity lasted for about six months from the middle of November 1995 to early May 1996. The first storm, Intense Tropical Cyclone Agnielle, formed in the adjacent Australian basin on November 16 and later reached peak winds in the south-west Indian Ocean. The next named storm after Agnielle was Bonita, which formed in early January and killed 42 people. The basin was most active in February, with two tropical cyclones, or the equivalent of a minimal hurricane, as well as a severe tropical storm. The first of these three was Doloresse, which killed 67 people due to a shipwreck in the Comoros. The next storm was Cyclone Edwige, which caused heavy crop damage on Mauritius before looping along the east coast of Madagascar. In March, both Cyclone Flossy and Tropical Storm Guylianne passed near the Mascarene Islands, producing heavy rainfall and gusty winds.
The fastest wind speed not related to tornadoes ever recorded was during the passage of Tropical Cyclone Olivia on 10 April 1996: an automatic weather station on Barrow Island, Australia, registered a maximum wind gust of 408 km/h (220 kn; 253 mph; 113 m/s). The wind gust was evaluated by the WMO Evaluation Panel who found that the anemometer was mechanically sound and the gust was within statistical probability and ratified the measurement in 2010. The anemometer was mounted 10 m above ground level (and thus 64 m above sea level). During the cyclone, several extreme gusts of greater than 300 km/h (160 kn; 83 m/s) were recorded, with a maximum 5-minute mean speed of 176 km/h (95 kn; 110 mph; 49 m/s), the extreme gust factor was in the order of 2.27–2.75 times the mean wind speed. The pattern and scales of the gusts suggest that a mesovortex was embedded in the already strong eyewall of the cyclone.
Generally speaking, the intensity of a tropical cyclone is determined by either the storm's maximum sustained winds or lowest barometric pressure. The following table lists the most intense Atlantic hurricanes in terms of their lowest barometric pressure. In terms of wind speed, Hurricane Allen (in 1980) was the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone on record, with maximum sustained winds of . However, these measurements are suspect since instrumentation used to document wind speeds at the time would likely succumb to winds of such intensity. Nonetheless, their central pressures are low enough to rank them among the strongest recorded Atlantic hurricanes.
Three people were killed and 133 reported injured. One of the fatalities was thrown by the tornado from her home to a backyard four or five houses away. Debris was found miles away. Over 4,000 buildings were damaged and 287 were destroyed. In terms of damage, it was the costliest tornado in American history to that date, with damages costing at least $250 million to $300 million (around $1.7 billion in 2015 dollars), and insurance costs estimated at up to $1.1 billion (in 1975). It was the third-costliest tornado, behind the Oklahoma City-area F5 tornado on May 3, 1999, and the Wichita Falls, Texas, tornadoes on April 10, 1979, until the Joplin, Missouri EF5 tornado on May 22, 2011. It is now currently the seventh-costliest tornado on record.
Though Andrew was a small tropical cyclone for most of its lifespan, it caused extreme damage, especially in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana. The vast majority of the damage was as a result of extremely high winds, although a few tornadoes spawned by Andrew caused considerable damage in Louisiana. Throughout the areas affected, almost 177,000 people were left homeless. Outside of the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana, effects were widespread, although damage was minimal. Overall, $27.3 billion in losses and 65 fatalities were attributed to Andrew, with some estimates ranging as high as $34 billion. Andrew was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history at the time, but is now seventh following hurricanes Katrina (2005), Ike (2008), Sandy (2012), Harvey (2017), Irma (2017), and Maria (2017).
Beginning in 1950, the National Hurricane Center named officially recognized tropical storms and hurricanes. The unnamed hurricane was reported to have met all the criteria for a tropical cyclone, but it was purposefully left unnamed. This was done to avoid confusion among the media and the public, who were focusing on the damage from the initial nor'easter, as the hurricane itself was not expected to pose a major threat to land. It was the eighth nameable storm of the 1991 Atlantic hurricane season. Had the system been named instead, it would have received the name "Henri", which was the next name on the 1991 list after Grace.
This was the deadliest tornado recorded in Oklahoma since an F5 tornado killed 107 people in Woodward on April 9, 1947. It was also the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area; the previous record was held by an F4 tornado that affected southwestern portions of the city on June 12, 1942, killing 31 people and causing $500,000 in damage ($ million in (2022 USD) when adjusted for inflation). It was the costliest tornado in US history until an EF4 tornado hit Tuscaloosa and northern portions of Birmingham, Alabama on April 27, 2011, causing an estimated $2.45 billion in damage (, the Bridge Creek–Moore tornado is the fourth-costliest tornado, having been surpassed by the EF5 tornadoes that hit Joplin on May 22, 2011, and areas of Moore near the 1999 storm track on May 20, 2013). National Weather Service researchers estimated that the death toll from the storm would likely have exceeded 600 had it not been for the advanced warning through local television and radio stations and exercising proper safety precautions.
Cherrapunji, situated on the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalaya in Shillong, India is the confirmed wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of . The highest recorded rainfall in a single year was in 1861. The 38-year average at nearby Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India is . The wettest spot in Australia is Mount Bellenden Ker in the north-east of the country which records an average of per year, with over of rain recorded during 2000. The Big Bog on the island of Maui has the highest average annual rainfall in the Hawaiian Islands, at .Mount Waiʻaleʻale on the island of Kauaʻi achieves similar torrential rains, while slightly lower than that of the Big Bog, at of rain per year over the last 32 years, with a record in 1982. Its summit is considered one of the rainiest spots on earth, with a reported 350 days of rain per year. 
Lloró, a town situated in Chocó, Colombia, is probably the place with the largest rainfall in the world, averaging per year. The Department of Chocó is extraordinarily humid. Tutunendaó, a small town situated in the same department, is one of the wettest estimated places on Earth, averaging per year; in 1974 the town received , the largest annual rainfall measured in Colombia. Unlike Cherrapunji, which receives most of its rainfall between April and September, Tutunendaó receives rain almost uniformly distributed throughout the year. Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, receives the most rain in the world among cities with over 100,000 inhabitants: per year. Storms in Chocó can drop of rainfall in a day. This amount is more than what falls in many cities in a year's time.
The hurricane season officially began on June 1, though the first tropical cyclone developed on May 21. A total of 21 tropical and subtropical cyclones formed, but just 10 of them intensified into nameable storm systems. This was about average compared to the 1950–2000 average of 9.6 named storms. Six of these reached hurricane status, around the 1950–2000 average of 5.9. Furthermore, three storms reached major hurricane status; close to the 1950–2000 average of 2.3. Collectively, the cyclones of this season caused at least 84 deaths and about $101.63 million in damage. The Atlantic hurricane season officially ended on November 30, with the final cyclone becoming extratropical on October 28.
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 was one of the largest tornado outbreaks on record which affected the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. Most of the tornadoes developed in a corridor from Lake Superior southwest to central Texas; isolated tornadoes occurred in other areas. An especially destructive tornado destroyed one-third of Joplin, Missouri, resulting in 158 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. The Joplin tornado is the deadliest in the U.S. since April 9, 1947, when an intense tornado killed 181 in the Woodward, Oklahoma area. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. Overall, the tornado outbreak resulted in 184 deaths, 6 of those non-tornadic, making it second only to the 2011 Super Outbreak as the deadliest since 1974, and the second costliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history behind that same April 2011 outbreak, with insured damage estimated at $4–7 billion.
The 1984–85 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was an average cyclone season. Tropical cyclones in this basin are monitored by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in Réunion. The first storm formed in mid-November, though it was not officially named. A few days later, the first official storm of the year (Anety) formed. In December, one storm formed. During January 1985, two tropical cyclones formed towards the end of the month. Three more systems developed in a short period of time in early to mid-February. After nearly two more months of inactivity, an unusually powerful late season storm developed (Helisaonina) in mid-April, which was the strongest storm of the year. While a number of storms during the season reached severe tropical storm status, only one of those intensified further. Even though two tropical cyclones this year made landfall, no known damage was recorded.
On May 22, a large, devastating EF5 tornado tracked through Joplin, Missouri, leaving behind catastrophic damage. It was a multiple-vortex tornado in excess of wide. Mainly the southern part of the city was affected with most structures in the area either damaged or destroyed. 162 people were killed along the path through Jasper and Newton counties in Missouri, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado since 1947, and one of the deadliest single tornadoes ever recorded. Among the most heavily damaged structures was St. John's Hospital (pictured right), which later was torn down due to the severity of the structural damage. Damages were estimated at around $2.8 billion (2011 USD).
The 2006 Pacific hurricane season was the most active since 2000, producing 19 tropical storms or hurricanes. Eighteen developed within the National Hurricane Center (NHC) area of warning responsibility, which is east of 140°W, and one storm formed between 140°W and the International Date Line, which is under the jurisdiction of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC). Of the 19 total storms, eleven became hurricanes, of which six attained major hurricane status. Within the NHC portion of the basin, the season officially began on May 15, and in the CPHC portion, it started on June 1; the season officially ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the eastern Pacific basin.
Hurricane Andrew was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in mid-to-late August 1992, the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later. It was the strongest in decades and the costliest hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the United States until it was surpassed by Katrina in 2005. Andrew caused major damage in the Bahamas and Louisiana, but the greatest impact was felt in South Florida, where the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph (270 km/h). Passing directly through the city of Homestead in Dade County (now known as Miami-Dade County), Andrew stripped many homes of all but their concrete foundations. In total, Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses, damaged more than 124,000 others, caused $27.3 billion in damage, and left 65 people dead.
This was the strongest earthquake affecting Chile since the magnitude 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake (the most energetic earthquake ever measured in the world), and it was the strongest earthquake worldwide since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and until the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. It is tied with the 1906 Ecuador–Colombia and 1833 Sumatra earthquakes as the sixth strongest earthquake ever measured, approximately 500 times more powerful than the 7.0 M earthquake in Haiti one month prior in January 2010.
Before the formal start of naming, tropical cyclones were often named after places, objects, or saints' feast days on which they occurred. The credit for the first usage of personal names for weather systems is generally given to the Queensland Government Meteorologist Clement Wragge, who named systems between 1887 and 1907. This system of naming weather systems subsequently fell into disuse for several years after Wragge retired until it was revived in the latter part of World War II for the Western Pacific. Formal naming schemes have subsequently been introduced for the North Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Western and Southern Pacific basins as well as the Australian region and Indian Ocean.
The New Year's Day Storm () was a powerful European windstorm that affected much of northern Scotland and western Norway on 1 January 1992. DNMI estimated the strongest sustained winds (10 min. average) and the strongest gusts to have reached 90 knots (46 m/s) and 62 m/s, respectively. Unofficial records of gusts in excess of 130 knots (67 m/s) were recorded in Shetland, while Statfjord-B in the North Sea recorded wind gusts in excess of 145 knots (75 m/s). There were very few fatalities, mainly due to the rather low population of the islands, and the fact that the islanders are used to powerful wind, and because it struck in the morning on a public holiday when people were indoors. In Norway there were one fatality, in Frei, Møre og Romsdal county. There were also two fatalities on Unst in the Shetland Isles.
The United States averaged 1,274 tornadoes per year in the last decade. April 2011 saw the most tornadoes ever recorded for any month in the US National Weather Service's history, 875; the previous record was 542 in one month. It has more tornadoes yearly than any other country and reports more violent (F4 and F5) tornadoes than anywhere else.
On July 6, a tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa. Moving westward, the disturbance gradually organized until July 10, at which point convection became more concentrated, and it is estimated Tropical Depression Five formed in the central tropical Atlantic that evening. Late on July 11, it strengthened and was named Tropical Storm Emily. Initially forecast to strengthen rapidly and move west-northwest through the Greater Antilles, Emily instead moved almost due west toward the Windward Islands, remaining a moderate tropical storm. The storm languished while moving quickly west, and struggled with maintaining its form. Contrary to the normal occurrence that hurricanes leave a cold wake behind, Hurricane Dennis had made portions of the Caribbean Sea warmer, and therefore more favorable for tropical cyclone development. Late on July 13, Emily strengthened rapidly and reached hurricane strength while passing Tobago and entering the eastern Caribbean. On July 14, Emily made landfall in northern Grenada with 90 mph (145 km/h) winds.
A report by Time Magazine in early October 1958 referred to Ida as the worst Japanese typhoon in 24 years, since the 1934 Maruto typhoon. In the Tokyo area, the storm caused widespread power outages and severely disrupted the transportation system. During the storm, communications were severed with the Izu Peninsula, where damage was heaviest. Across the country, more than 520,000 homes were flooded, which is the most on record. As a result, the Japan Meteorological Agency gave Ida the special local name of the "Kanogawa Typhoon". The typhoon damaged 16,743 homes to some degree, including 2,118 that were destroyed and another 2,175 that were severely damaged. Although it was initially reported that the storm left about 500,000 people homeless, the total was later lowered to 12,000 people left homeless due to the storm. In addition, the typhoon destroyed more than 244 road or rail bridges. Overall damage was estimated at $50 million (1958 USD), or 20.6 billion yen. Overall, the typhoon injured 1,138 people and killed a total of 1,269 people. This makes Ida the sixth-deadliest storm in the country, behind Typhoon Ruth in 1951, Typhoon Marie in 1954, Typhoon Ida in 1945, the 1934 Muroto typhoon, and Typhoon Vera in 1959. Included in the death toll were 381 people that were missing and presumed killed.
The highest reliably-estimated maximum sustained winds on record for a typhoon were those of Typhoon Haiyan at shortly before its landfall in the central Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013. The most intense storm based on minimum pressure was Typhoon Tip in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in 1979, which reached a minimum pressure of and maximum sustained wind speeds of 165 knots (85 m/s, 190 mph, 310 km/h). The deadliest typhoon of the 20th century was Typhoon Nina, which killed nearly 100,000 in China in 1975 due to a flood that caused 12 reservoirs to fail. After Typhoon Morakot landed in Taiwan at midnight on August 8, 2009, almost the entire southern region of Taiwan (Chiayi County/Chiayi City, Tainan County/Tainan City (now merged as Tainan), Kaohsiung County/Kaohsiung City (now merged as Kaohsiung), and Pingtung County) and parts of Taitung County and Nantou County were flooded by record-breaking heavy rain. The rainfall in Pingtung County reached 2,327 millimeters (91.6 in), breaking all rainfall records of any single place in Taiwan induced by a single typhoon, and making the cyclone the wettest known typhoon.
Typhoon Joan of October 1997 was the longest-lasting super typhoon at the time, maintaining 1-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 240 km/h (150 mph) for 4.5 days. Joan, concurrently with Typhoon Ivan to its west, also became the strongest typhoons at the same time in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The 25th named storm during the active 1997 Pacific typhoon season, Joan developed from the same trough as Typhoon Ivan on October 11. It moved northwestward and later to the west, undergoing explosive deepening to its peak intensity on October 15. One typhoon warning agency estimated that Joan was among the strongest storms on record in the basin, and that Ivan and Joan marked the first occurrence of simultaneous super typhoons. While near peak intensity, Joan passed between Anatahan and Saipan in the Northern Marianas Islands. Later, the typhoon weakened and turned to the north and east, becoming extratropical on October 24.
The most notable typhoon is in 1987, when Sorsogon was devastated by Super Typhoon Nina named "Sisang". It was a major disaster in the Province of Sorsogon. Damages in properties cost million of pesos, and killing 200 people. It is said that Sisang is the strongest typhoon that hit the Province, especially its capital, Sorsogon City. According to PAGASA, Typhoon Nina ravaged with a wind of 180 kilometers per hour and a gustiness of 200 kph. Thousands of houses plus business establishments were destroyed by the said natural calamity. Typhoon Sisang hit the Sorsogon soil at around 7:00 pm and it last until dawn of the next day. it also caused massive storm surges particularly around the Sorsogon Bay area which contributed to the many fatalities during the battering of the typhoon.