Typhoon Marge (1951)

Marge was the largest tropical cyclone ever observed to date, with a wind circulation extending 1,160 km (720 mi) in diameter; this record stood until it was preceded by Typhoon Tip in 1979.^[2] Meteorologist Robert Simpson flew on board a reconnaissance mission that flew into Marge near its peak strength and documented the eye's visual and sampled characteristics. Simpson did state that Marge could be anywhere above 115mph(185km/h). The flight was an atypical departure from normal reconnaissance missions due to secondary—albeit procedurally constrained—storm-research objectives.^[3] Publishing his findings in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in 1952, his work would be instrumental in the understanding of tropical cyclone structure.^[4]

United Nations naval vessels and United States Navy armaments responding to the Korean War were evacuated from the western coast of the Korean peninsula in advance of the approaching typhoon.^[5][6] Gusts as high as 180 km/h (112 mph) were reported in Okinawa in what was considered the island's most impactful typhoon since U.S. military occupation in 1945.^[7] Although damage was minimal to U.S. military installations,^[8] crop damage was extensive in other parts of Okinawa and several roads and highways were washed out by the heavy rains and surf. Impacts were more extensive further north of Kyushu, where rainfall totals as high as 400 mm (16 in) produced widespread flooding that flooded rice paddies and over a thousand homes, prompting the evacuation of 11,943 people. Offshore, twelve fishing boats capsized in the rough surf, and storm surge killed four in the Kyushu village of Yoshikawa.^[9] Across southern Japan, there were 12 deaths and 53 injuries caused by Marge.^[10] In South Korea, the Busan area was particularly hard hit, with coastal flooding displacing 550 people from their destroyed wooden homes. A half-mile segment of railroad between Yeosu and Daejeon was also washed out.^[11]