1912 Phillippines Typhoon

[ljmac75]

I was perusing Wikipedia earlier and came across this article about a typhoon that struck Tacloban in the Phillippines in 1912, killing 15,000 people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_Tacloban_typhoon . If that's true, this would be the deadliest Phillippines typhoon on record.

Has anyone ever heard of this before? The only source seems to be an article in an American newspaper and a few websites alluding to the newspaper article. This was during the period where the Phillipines was a US possession, so I would imagine there's more information on this somewhere.

[FireRat]

That 1912 typhoon was quite an interesting and devastating event. I read about that one some time ago too, seems to have been the predecessor to Haiyan in Tacloban and surrounding areas, and a similar calamity also happened in 1897.

The 1912 typhoon struck during November 25-26, similar time of year as Haiyan. The death toll seems to be a bit iffy, some sources say 800 or more, and then there's that news of 15,000 which would be insane.

[ljmac75]

I've found a few more newspaper accounts actually, although none with a more firm estimate of the death toll:

I wonder if the 150 mph wind mentioned in this one was an actual measurement or just an estimate.
https://www.newspapers.com/article/hay-springs-enterprise-a-terrific-storm/151586314/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hamilton-spectator-awful-havoc-wroug/151587282/

I get the feeling that the estimate given of 15,000 was more of a first guess than an actual figure.

[hector9]

I read information about this storm before but don't remember the source. The storm was so fierce and the death toll was so high.

But the number 15,000 is unbelievable. Probably just a guess.

[FireRat]

It would be interesting to see if that extreme death toll was accurate and not an estimate, it would really rewrite history for the Philippines in a big way!