Tropical Storm Linda (1997)

The origins of Typhoon Linda were from an area of convection that were first noted east of the Philippines on October 26. A subtropical ridge persisted to the north, which caused the disturbance to move generally westward. On October 29, the system crossed the Philippines and entered the South China Sea. It subsequently began to organize, and late on October 31, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) initiated advisories on Tropical Depression 30W. At that time, the system was located off the northwest coast of Borneo. The PAGASA organization named it "Openg". Shortly after developing, the depression intensified into a tropical storm, and was named "Linda" by the JTWC. It continued to intensify, reaching winds of as it approached southern Vietnam. At 0900 UTC on November 2, Linda made landfall in the Vietnamese province of Cà Mau. It maintained its strength over land, and the storm quickly reached typhoon status after entering the Gulf of Thailand; a typhoon is a tropical cyclone with winds of at least , although Linda did not intensify beyond minimal typhoon status. Turning northwestward, Linda deteriorated to tropical storm strength, and struck Thailand late on November 3 with winds of . With warm waters, Tropical Storm Linda gradually re-intensified as it slowed down, due to a weakness in the subtropical ridge. On November 6, it again attained typhoon status while located off the southwest coast of Burma (Myanmar). The cyclone only maintained peak strength for 18 hours, due to an increase in wind shear from a mid-latitude trough. Linda's motion became nearly stationary, and it gradually weakened for several days. On November 9, Linda dissipated about southwest of Yangon, Burma. That day, the IMD also terminated advisories. ==Impact and aftermath==

, including Vietnam on the right and Thailand to the left Prior to the arrival of the storm, officials in Vietnam issued warnings to the residents, although its approach was faster than expected, and the region rarely experiences tropical cyclones. Tropical Storm Linda dropped heavy rainfall across southern Vietnam, peaking at in Cần Thơ. Overall, the storm damaged 139,445 houses and wrecked 76,609 more, Thousands of schools were damaged, and 130,815 dykes were breached. A preliminary damage total was estimated at 7.18 trillion dongs (US$385 million). and on November 14, eight days after the storm, the death toll reached 464. Ultimately, the death toll was set at 3,111. Eight days after Linda's passage, a United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) report indicated 857 people were injured by the storm. The Vietnamese government identified basic supplies that it needed in response to the storm; those included various foods, clothing, medicine, shelter supplies, and sanitation equipment. Prior to the request, the government of Switzerland sent about 500,000 Swiss francs (US$360,000) for immediate relief assistance. Elsewhere, moderate damage was also reported in Thailand, Flash flooding occurred in six districts, which damaged about of croplands and destroyed 12 houses. Land transportation was affected, with 184 roads and 14 bridges damaged. The government of Thailand sent 20 medical teams to the most affected areas. Following the storm, about 10,600 people became sick from flood related diseases. Heavy rains fell in Tanintharyi Division in southeastern Burma (Myanmar), although because the winds were not strong, there was little damage. The typhoon increased smog and haze in Indonesia and Malaysia, which had been occurring for weeks. In Indonesia, the typhoon also removed atmospheric moisture, which lowered the chance for rain in areas affected by wildfires. Cambodia was also affected by the outskirts of the storm. ==See also==