Description

Typhoon Sarah, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Openg, was a powerful typhoon that caused extensive damage along an erratic path across the Western Pacific in September 1989. Originating from a disturbance within a monsoon trough in early September, Sarah was first classified as a tropical depression near the Mariana Islands on September 5. Moving quickly westward, the depression soon strengthened into Tropical Storm Sarah. On September 8, the storm abruptly turned southward and temporarily attained typhoon status. Following a series of interactions with secondary areas of low pressure, the storm turned northward the following day. By September 11, Sarah entered a region favoring development and underwent a period of explosive intensification. At the end of this phase, the storm attained its peak intensity as a Category 4–equivalent typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. The typhoon subsequently weakened rapidly and made two landfalls in Taiwan by September 12. After moving over the Taiwan Strait, Sarah made its final landfall in Eastern China on September 13 before dissipating the following day.