| 29th | Top tropical cyclones |
| Typhoon (JMA) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 5 Tropical Cyclone (SSHS) | |||
 Typhoon Gay at peak intensity shortly before its landfall in India |
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| Formed | October 31, 1989 | ||
| Dissipated | November 10, 1989 | ||
| Highest winds |
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| Lowest pressure | 898 hPa (mbar) | ||
| Fatalities | 1,060 direct | ||
| Damage | Unknown | ||
| Areas affected |
Thailand, India | ||
| Part of the 1989 Pacific typhoon season 1989 North Indian Ocean cyclone Season |
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Typhoon Gay (international designation: 8929, JTWC designation: 32W) was the tropical cyclone which caused significant damage in Chumphon Province of Thailand and eastern India in November 1989. It was the worst typhoon to affect the Malay peninsula in 35 years.[1] The storm formed on November 1 in the southern Gulf of Thailand, and dissipated over the Western Ghats mountains of India on November 10. The storm was not only unique in being the only tropical cyclone to hit Thailand with full typhoon wind speed (120 mph at landfall), but its origin in the Gulf, its small size,[2] its high intensity, and the fact the storm was active in two different tropical cyclone basins also made it an unusual tropical storm.
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On November 1, the beginnings of the storm showed on satellite images of the southern Gulf of Thailand. A concentrated convection area with an upper level anticyclone was found and ships reported a relatively high surface pressure of 1008 hPa. The disturbance of the monsoon trough continued to consolidate, thus at 21:00 UTC a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued. Warm waters of the gulf combined with geographical circumstances in the gulf helped to spin up the cyclone. Satellite images showed the intensification, while the surface pressure at the Thai and Malay coast increased due to the subsidence of the air uplifted by the storm. On November 2 18:00 UTC the intensification increased, thus the storm reached typhoon wind speeds at around November 3 0:00 UTC.
Gay continued to intensify, reaching wind speeds of 100 knots (190 km/h) shortly before it made landfall on November 4 06:00 UTC. During the pass over the narrow Kra Isthmus the storm lost slightly in intensity, which it quickly gained back in the Andaman Sea.
Moving north-northwest across the Bay of Bengal at a speed of about 10 knots (19 km/h), it slowly intensified back to 100 knots (190 km/h), but then restrictions in the upper level outflow stopped it from gaining anymore speed until November 7. On November 8 06:00 UTC the winds reached 130 knots (240 km/h) and at 18:00 UTC it became a Category 5 cyclone. Gay made landfall over a low populated area of India about 220 kilometres (140 mi) north of Madras. There was initial concern that Gay might succeed in crossing India and reach the Arabian Sea, but the cyclone went more northerly than expected. Due to its midget size, the typhoon's energy dissipated quickly, and thus it ended over the Western Ghats mountains of western India.[1]
The Unocal oil drilling ship Seacrest, moored in the gulf, became the first victim of the storm, where 91 perished and six survived.[3] Major damage was caused to the coral reefs offshore Thailand.[4] The eye of the typhoon passed nearby and its associated strong waves capsized the ship. During the landfall in Thailand, Gay claimed at least 458 lives, also more than 600 seamen were reported missing. Two hundred fishing vessels were lost. Because it made landfall in a rural area with a low population, it only claimed 39 lives in India but still destroyed or damaged 20,000 homes.
Despite how deadly Gay was, the name was not retired because most of the fatalities were while the typhoon was in the North Indian Ocean Basin.
Gay was the most devastating storm to affect the Malay Peninsula since Tropical Storm Harriet in 1962. No other storm caused this kind of impact here since then.
   | UNISYS 1989 tracks - Unisys Weather: 1989 Hurricane/Tropical Data for Western Pacific |
| | Seacrest Drillship sinking. - Seacrest Drillship Sinking - Oil Rig Disasters - Offshore Drilling Accidents |
| | Section 4. IMPACT OF FORECAST ACCURACY, DIFFICULTY AND VARIABILITY. - Section 4. IMPACT OF FORECAST ACCURACY, DIFFICULTY AND VARIABILITY |
| | 6. Status of southeast Asian coral reefs. - AIMS - Section 6, Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998 |
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