text: 1940 pacific typhoon season the 1940 pacific typhoon season marked an interruption in meteorological records in both the philippines and hong kong due to the start of world war ii . there were 43 reported tropical cyclone , including 27 that attained typhoon status . the first storm was observed in february , and the first typhoon formed two months later , killing three people along mindanao . several storms formed in june and july , including reports of a typhoon in the newspapers that killed 52 in south korea , and another typhoon reported in newspapers that killed one person on samar after dropping heavy rainfall . the strongest typhoon of the season originated in july and attained a minimum pressure of 927 mbar ( 27 . 4 inhg ) , as reported by a ship northeast of the philippines . on august 18 , a typhoon moved near or over northeastern luzon , killing nine people . in early september , a typhoon passed through the bonin islands south of japan and later moved near kyushu ; heavy rainfall caused a reservoir to collapse in ōita prefecture , killing 50 people . on september 18 , a typhoon caused a tram collision in tokyo due to poor visibility , killing 20 . another typhoon struck southern taiwan on september 29 , causing 50 fatalities . on october 19 , wake island recorded typhoon - force winds for the first time since observations began five years prior . a strong typhoon passed near guam on november 3 with winds of 200 km / h ( 125 mph ) , damaging most of the buildings on the island and killing five . three storms affected the philippines in december , the second of which was the most notable ; it killed 63 people and left 75 , 000 homeless on catanduanes . the third of the philippine storms dissipated on december 24 , ending activity for the season . there was another december typhoon that killed two people on a ship to the northeast of guam . storms data for most of the storms were provided through the world wide consolidated tropical cyclone data file known as td - . the document utilized several sources to indicate where storms were located , and as a result there were duplications . during the season , the philippine weather bureau issued monthly bulletins , which later provided info for tropical cyclone tracks . the agency used weather stations that were established by spain and the united states after each country ruled over the archipelago . the weather data ceased in august 1940 , which were later rebuilt in 1945 . also in 1940 , meteorology records were disrupted in hong kong , which were later restored in 1947 , due to world war ii . february and april on february 1 , a tropical cyclone formed over western mindanao in the philippines . it moved northwestward across palawan island and was last noted later on february 1 . historical weather maps show only a circulation near 9 n 121 e. this was a weak system , likely a depression but may have been a weak tropical storm . two months later , a tropical depression developed on april 9 to the east of yap in the western caroline islands . it moved west - northwestward , passing south of the island without gaining much intensity . the depression later bypassed palau to the north , dissipating on april 13 about 400 km ( 250 mi ) west - northwest of the island . on april 23 , a tropical cyclone was observed east of palau , moving to the west - southwest . it curved south of the island before turning to the west - northwest . while the storm was approaching mindanao , a ship reported a minimum pressure of 985 mbar ( 29 . 09 inhg ) and force 12 on the beaufort scale , indicating that the system was a typhoon . early on april 26 , the typhoon made landfall just south of port lamon on eastern mindanao , where a pressure of 980 mbar ( 29 inhg ) was reported . along the coast , the storm produced strong winds and heavy rainfall , and killed three people after capsizing a boat . the storm later crossed over negros island and near cebu , where winds of 70 km / h ( 43 mph ) were reported . the storm later entered the south china sea , dissipating near palawan on april 28 . june and july a preexisting low pressure area organized into a tropical cyclone on june 9 near chuuk state . it moved to the northwest as a tropical depression , influencing the trade winds on yap . on june 13 , the storm executed a small loop to the southwest , later turning back to the northwest . it eventually intensified into a typhoon , producing a pressure of 999 mbar ( 29 . 5 inhg ) in the ryukyu islands while passing to the east . the system was no a longer a tropical cyclone by june 16 , either due to dissipation or becoming an extratropical cyclone that continued to the northeast toward alaska . toward the end of june , a tropical depression moved across the philippines through the visayas , first observed on june 26 . after moving westward into the south china sea , the depression turned to the northeast , reaching the luzon strait . later , the depression recurved back to the west , dissipating over china on july 3 . on june 29 , a tropical cyclone developed southeast of palau . it moved to the northwest , remaining east of palau and the philippines . later classified as a typhoon , the system turned to the west and struck taiwan , then known as formosa , on july 7 . it moved across the island , crossed the taiwan strait , and dissipated over china on july 9 . another tropical depression formed on july 4 near chuuk . it moved generally to the west - northwest , although it curved southwestward on july 6 . the next day , the system passed about 480 km ( 300 mi ) south of guam , by which time it attained typhoon status . it resumed its movement to the northwest , remaining east of the philippines . on july 11 , a nearby ship reported a pressure of 959 mbar ( 28 . 3 inhg ) and winds of force 12 on the beaufort scale . two days later , the typhoon passed about 95 km ( 60 mi ) west of naha , okinawa into the east china sea , after turning more to the north . on july 14 , the typhoon turned to the northeast into the sea of japan , moving between japan and south korea . it later crossed hokkaido , dissipating on july 17 in the sea of okhotsk . on july 8 , the australian associated press reported that there was a typhoon about 195 km ( 120 mi ) east of samar . the storm dropped heavy rainfall over a period of a week , the most since 1919 in one area , which caused river flooding and one death . on july 12 , local newspapers also reported a typhoon striking seoul , south korea , killing 52 people and leaving thousands homeless . however , neither of the two storms were mentioned in the monthly weather review summary for the month . a short - lived tropical cyclone appeared on july 11 in the south china sea , but dissipated the next day . another short - lived system developed on july 13 near yap , dissipating on the next day . a few days later on july 18 , a tropical cyclone formed west of guam ; the system moved westward and was no longer observed by july 23 . on july 12 , a tropical depression formed to the east - southeast of guam . it moved westward , passing through the marianas islands on july 14 . around july 18 , the storm turned toward the north , passing east of taiwan . three days later , the storm approached the japanese island of ishigaki 100 km ( 60 mi ) to the west , where a pressure of 985 . 3 mbar ( 29 . 10 inhg ) confirmed the system attained typhoon status . on july 23 , the typhoon turned to the northeast and moved across the korean peninsula . the storm turned to the east , later moving across northern honshu on july 24 , and dissipating two days later . another tropical depression formed east of guam on july 21 . it tracked westward , passing near the island on july 23 , and later shifted more to the west - northwest . on july 26 , a ship reported a low pressure of 927 mbar ( 27 . 4 inhg ) , indicating that the system was a typhoon . the system later passed between the philippines and taiwan as it entered the south china sea , but no land areas reported strong winds , suggesting the typhoon was either very small or had weakened from its peak . on july 29 , the typhoon made landfall between hong kong and shantou in southeastern china , quickly dissipating . on july 24 , a tropical depression appeared east of guam , and soon after passed near the island while tracking northwestward . the system eventually passed between okinawa and taiwan , reaching a position 100 km ( 60 mi ) southwest of naha , okinawa on july 30 ; a station on the island reported a pressure of 990 mbar ( 29 inhg ) , suggesting the storm attained typhoon status . by the next day , the storm was no longer being tracked in the east china sea , although the monthly weather review summary indicated that the typhoon continued to the northwest , attaining a pressure of 973 mbar ( 28 . 7 inhg ) . the storm reached a position northeast of shanghai and dissipated on august 4 after crossing the shandong peninsula . august activity in august began when a tropical depression formed on august 1 to the west of guam . it exhibited a track , moving west - northwestward before turning to the south , ultimately dissipating on august 4 ; it never intensified beyond tropical depression status . another short - lived tropical depression formed on august 1 near guam , dissipating on august 3 after having moved to the north and west . on august 11 , a tropical cyclone appeared east of luzon . over the next few days , it moved across the philippines , passing near the island of mindoro on august 13 . the system moved across the south china sea , intensifying into a typhoon as it approached vietnam . although it paralleled the coast , the system dissipated over the gulf of tonkin on august 17 . a tropical depression formed on august 13 to the southwest of guam . it gradually strengthened while tracking west - northwestward , becoming a typhoon on august 16 . two days later , the storm passed near or over northeastern luzon and moved into the south china sea . after approaching hong kong , the typhoon turned to the west - southwest , paralleling the southern china coast . although the track for the storm ended on august 22 , the monthly weather review summary indicated that the typhoon crossed hainan . the storm then moved across the gulf of tonkin and dissipated on august 25 over vietnam . in luzon , stations reported a minimum pressure of 975 mbar ( 28 . 8 inhg ) in palanan , isabela . the storm produced widespread flooding in luzon , which damaged crops and cut communications , and killed nine people . in ilocos norte , the typhoon caused a shipwreck , although the passengers and crew were rescued . later , the typhoon brought gusts of 134 km / h ( 83 mph ) to hong kong . a short - lived tropical depression formed east of guam on august 14 , dissipating a day later . the next tropical system developed about 565 km ( 350 mi ) north of yap on august 19 . it moved generally to the northwest , interrupted a brief turn to the northeast before resuming its trajectory . it quickly intensified into a typhoon , and naha , okinawa reported a pressure of 987 mbar ( 29 . 1 inhg ) on august 23 . after passing near the island , the typhoon turned sharply to the northeast . it moved along the southern coast of japan before coming ashore west of tokyo on august 26 . soon after , the storm reached open waters and later passed over eastern hokkaido , dissipating on august 28 . on august 21 , a tropical depression formed near yap . after moving erratically to the south and northwest , the system dissipated on august 25 to the east of the philippines . there was another short - lived depression on august 28 to the east of guam , dissipating a day later . another tropical depression formed on august 24 to the east - southeast of guam . after passing south of the island , the system maintained a steady west - northwest trajectory and quickly intensified into a typhoon . on august 29 , the storm passed east of the batanes islands that are between taiwan and luzon ; a station there recorded a pressure of 987 mbar ( 29 . 1 inhg ) . a day later , the typhoon made landfall in northern taiwan , and after crossing the island , moved ashore in southeastern china near fuzhou with a pressure of 979 mbar ( 28 . 9 inhg ) . the storm remained distinct over land , turning to the northeast and passing west of shanghai . on september 3 , the system dissipated off the south coast of south korea . the last storm to form in august developed on august 30 to the northwest of guam . it briefly moved to the north - northeast before maintaining a steady northwest track . the system attained typhoon status , later dissipating on september 4 near okinawa . september on september 2 , a tropical depression developed to the east of guam . the system moved northwestward , remaining east and north of the marianas islands . around september 6 , the system passed through the bonin islands to the south of japan , where a station recorded a pressure of 964 mbar ( 28 . 5 inhg ) ; this indicated that the storm attained typhoon status . the storm turned to the west , influenced by a high pressure area over japan . it is possible the storm executed a loop , or it traversed to the north , before resuming a westerly track on september 9 . the typhoon later passed over southern kyushu , later turning abruptly to the northeast and east . on september 12 , the system dissipated over central honshu . while moving through the bonin islands , the typhoon destroyed schools , government offices , and power plants . several people were killed , and 500 were left homeless . later , the storm disrupted shipping in and around kyushu , damaging the port at nagasaki . in ōita prefecture , rains from the typhoon caused a reservoir on kyushu to collapse , killing 50 people . also on september 2 , a tropical depression formed between guam and luzon . it moved to the northwest , then turned to the northeast , intensifying into a typhoon ; this was based on a pressure reading of 993 mbar ( 29 . 3 inhg ) from a nearby ship . on september 6 , the system dissipated . a short - lived tropical depression formed on september 3 in the south china sea , dissipating the next day while moving eastward . there was another short - lived tropical depression that developed on september 4 near the marianas islands , but dissipated within one day . another tropical depression formed on september 4 to the west of the marianas islands , which moved to the south and later northeast , dissipating on september 6 . on september 10 , a tropical depression formed northeast of luzon , lasting only two days while moving in a circular track . on september 9 , a tropical depression formed near chuuk . two days later , the system passed south of guam while maintaining a general west trajectory , although it later turned to the north - northwest . by september 13 , the system attained typhoon status . three days later , the storm 's track shifted to the north - northeast , bringing it near hachijō - jima on september 18 which recorded a pressure of 983 mbar ( 29 . 0 inhg ) . that day , it approached southeastern honshu but remained offshore . after accelerating to the northeast , the system was no longer observed on september 20 to the southeast of the kamchatka peninsula . while passing east of japan , the typhoon caused a tram collision due to poor visibility , killing 20 people . on september 22 , a well - developed typhoon was first observed east - southeast of guam . the storm moved to the west and later west - northwest , bypassing the island to the south . on september 29 , the system entered the channel between taiwan and luzon , where a station recorded a pressure of 965 mbar ( 28 . 5 inhg ) at basco , batanes . that day , the typhoon passed over or very near southern taiwan as it continued to the northwest . on september 30 , it made landfall about 160 km ( 100 mi ) northeast of xiamen , weakening over land . the storm turned to the north and northeast , reaching the east china sea and dissipating on october 2 . in taiwan , the typhoon killed 50 people and wrecked 5 , 000 houses . the final september storm originated east of guam on september 29 . it moved westward , intensifying into a typhoon and passing north of guam . after varying its track toward the north or south , the typhoon dissipated on october 5 . october through december on october 8 , a tropical depression formed west of luzon . its track shifted from the northwest to the southwest and later back to the northwest . on october 12 , the system passed through the paracel islands , where a pressure of 996 mbar ( 29 . 4 inhg ) was recorded . the storm attained typhoon status , moving ashore in vietnam on october 15 . the tropical cyclone database listed a separate tropical cyclone that lasted from october 11 to 15 in the south china sea that also struck vietnam . a typhoon was observed on october 13 to the northeast of guam , with nearby ships reporting a pressure of 985 mbar ( 29 . 1 inhg ) . after moving to the northwest , the system turned to the northeast and was no longer observed after october 17 . on october 19 , a typhoon passed near wake island , where a pressure of 968 mbar ( 28 . 6 inhg ) was recorded . winds reached 220 km / h ( 140 mph ) , which was the first instance of typhoon - force winds on the island since observations began in 1935 . the winds were strong enough to cut radio communications and damage the pan american world airways base . the only people on the island were two dozen pan american workers , who survived by staying in a storm shelter that previously never experienced gale - force winds . after striking the island , the typhoon turned to the northeast , crossing the international date line on october 21 . a tropical depression formed on october 29 near pohnpei . it moved to the northeast initially , but on october 31 began tracking to the west . on november 3 , the system passed just south of guam as a typhoon , where a pressure of 956 mbar ( 28 . 2 inhg ) was recorded . winds reached over 200 km / h ( 125 mph ) , and there was a slight decrease during the passage of the eyewall . the typhoon turned to the northwest , passing near the bonin islands . on november 8 , the typhoon accelerated to the northeast , crossing the international date line on november 10 . when the storm struck guam , it damaged nearly every building on the island . most of the damage occurred after the center of the storm passed and the onslaught of easterly winds began . the storm also damaged the pan american tourist hotel and a hangar . downed trees killed two or three people , and five people in total died on the island , the others likely due to drowning . after the storm , naval governor george mcmillin sought aid from the american red cross to assist residents in rebuilding . it was considered among the worst typhoons on record in guam . on november 22 , a tropical depression developed near chuuk and moved westward . it crossed over palau on november 24 , and later turned more to the northwest . the system paralleled the east coast of mindanao , briefly moving ashore on november 26 . it turned to the northeast , dissipating on november 29 . the first in a series of storms to form in december was first observed on december 2 to the east of samar . the storm moved to the west across the island and through the central philippines , with a station in samar reporting a minimum pressure of 979 mbar ( 28 . 9 inhg ) . this indicated the system attained typhoon status . while moving westward , it moved through panay and later across palawan before entering the south china sea . on panay island , capiz recorded typhoon - force winds , and throughout the visayas , the storm damaged roads and bridges , but caused no deaths . the system dissipated on december 6 . on december 3 , a tropical depression formed about 485 km ( 300 mi ) east of yap . tracking westward , it intensified into a typhoon on december 5 while approaching the philippines . the system turned to the northwest , moving over eastern samar and crossing catanduanes island with a recorded pressure of 992 mbar ( 29 . 3 inhg ) . subsequently , there is contradictory information on the path ; the storm either continued to the northwest , dissipating over northeastern luzon on december 8 , or it turned to the southwest . in eastern luzon reported a pressure of 989 mbar ( 29 . 2 inhg ) on december 8 , and later , a station on marinduque island reported a pressure of 987 mbar ( 29 . 1 inhg ) . the monthly weather report tracked the storm over the philippines into the south china sea , reporting its dissipation on december 13 to the east of vietnam . across its path through the philippines , the typhoon brought heavy rains and strong winds , which downed trees and power lines . on catanduanes , the storm left about 75 , 000 people homeless , and killed 60 . at , camarines norte , ten people died when a tree fell onto a house . another three people drowned between polillo island and camarines norte . a tropical cyclone was observed on december 8 southeast of guam . it moved northwestward and passed about 160 km ( 100 mi ) north of the island on december 10 , where a pressure of 999 mbar ( 29 . 5 inhg ) was recorded . the typhoon turned to the west and later to the southwest . around december 14 , the system stalled to the east of the philippines , later drifting to the east . on december 19 , the system weakened , although it remained a distinct entity as it recurved back to the south and west . on december 24 , the storm dissipated after striking mindanao . the final storm of the season was observed on december 18 to the northeast of guam . it affected a nearby ship on december 20 , causing the deaths of two members of the crew in the subsequent day . the typhoon tracked to the northeast , crossing the international date line on december 21 . contemporary seasons 1925 - 1949 pacific hurricane seasons 1940 atlantic hurricane season