Tropical Storm, Guam
- When
- July 29, 12:00 AM GST to July 31, 12:00 AM GST
- Where
- Guam forecast zone
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Reported by
- Newspaper
Tropical Depression 11W formed to the to the east-southeast of Guam on the morning of the 29th of July. By the afternoon of the same day the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Halong.
The tropical storm passed through the Rota Channel during the afternoon the 30th. The center of the tropical storm passed around 10 miles south of Rota. During the 30th, winds gusted to 53 mph at the National Weather Service office in Guam. On the same day an automated weather observing station in Apra Harbor, Guam reported |a gust to 61 mph.
The tropical storm was also associated with heavy rainfall across the Mariana Islands. This rainfall caused flooding in some areas. Between the night of the 27th to the night of the 31st, the NWS office recorded 14.53 inches of rain. 12.99 inches of rainfall were recorded at Windward Hills in central Guam during those three days.
The winds and rains also caused sporadic power outages across the island of Guam. These same winds and rain caused trees to be uprooted across Guam.
On the 30th, during the height of the storm, a 49-foot Japanese fishing vessel, the Take Maru 55, went aground on the west side of Cocos Island (southern Guam) with six crew members aboard. The crew members had to swim to Cocos Island to seek shelter from the effects of Tropical Storm Halong. On Cocos island they sheltered in one of the buildings at the Cocos Island Resort. There were no reports of injuries to any of the personnel. The six individuals were picked up and later transported to Guam.
The swells also pushed a dead 38-foot, 20-ton Baleen whale ashore on the shores of Agat on August 2nd. The Guam Department of Agriculture biologist, Brent Tibbatts, concluded that the whale simply died of old age and was washed ashore by the tides.|He based his assessment on the whale's size and lack of obvious injuries or disease.