page_title: Typhoon Karen
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Karen / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Damage to a building caused by Typhoon Karen in November 1962
context_page_description: Typhoon Karen was the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike the island of Guam, and has been regarded as one of the most destructive events in the island's history. It was first identified as a tropical disturbance on November 6, 1962, well to the southeast of Truk. Over the following two days, the system tracked generally northward and quickly intensified. Karen became a tropical storm late on November 7, and within two days it explosively intensified into a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Turning westward, the typhoon maintained its intensity and struck Guam with winds of 280 km/h on November 11. Once clear of the island, it strengthened slightly and reached its peak intensity on November 13 with winds of 295 km/h and a barometric pressure of 894 mb. The storm then gradually turned northward as it weakened, brushing the Ryukyu Islands on November 15, before moving east-northeastward over the open waters of the Pacific. Karen continued to weaken and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on November 17 before losing its identity the following day between Alaska and Hawaii.
  Karen devastated Guam with wind gusts estimated up to 280 km/h.
context_section_description: In the immediate aftermath of the typhoon, the Pacific Air Forces were on standby to deliver supplies to Guam, but were delayed by inoperable airstrips. Guam Memorial Hospital was damaged, but other civilian and military installations, including the Navy's hospital, were able to handle injured persons. On November 12, Manuel Guerrero made an urgent appeal to the Government of the United States requesting that aid be rushed to the territory. Additionally, he instituted an island-wide curfew between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time to limit looting. At schools, teachers were called in to guard supplies and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, under orders from United States President John F. Kennedy, declared Guam a major disaster area later that day, allowing residents to receive federal aid. Additionally, 15 United States Air Force communications technicians were deployed from Manila, Philippines carrying three plane-loads of communication supplies. Guerrero estimated that it would take four months to complete repairs to utilities. It was also estimated that schools on the island would be closed for six months.
  Initially, residents across Guam were critical of the delayed response by the U.S. government; no aid had arrived within two days of the storm, but unsafe conditions at airports had prevented aircraft from landing. With the majority of homes destroyed across Guam, structures that remained standing were used as temporary shelter for those left homeless. Similarly, damaged military installations at Anderson Air Force Base were made available to all civilians. By November 14, USS Daniel I. Sultan arrived in Guam with 1,100 troops to provide emergency power. A U.S. Air Force AC-130 landed on the island that day carrying the first package of relief supplies. About 400 troops and 80 public works employees were sent from Hawaii on November 14. The Red Cross and civil defense offices were placed in charge of coordinating recovery efforts. Water distribution centers were set up across the island to provide residents with clean drinking water.
  On November 15, a massive evacuation of residents began to remove survivors from unsafe conditions. Two flights to California took place on the first day of evacuation, carrying a total of 154 people. Thousands of residents were also brought to Wake Island for shelter. Military Air Transport Service planes from the United States mainland, Japan, the Philippines, and Hawaii were called in for the operation. On November 16, residents were warned of a possible typhoid epidemic and urged to get inoculations for the disease. Over a three-day span, roughly 30,000 people were given preventative shots for the disease. In contrast to their previous ban on alien workers, the Government of Guam requested 1,500 carpenters, masons, and other building workers from the Philippines. By November 21, the Navy Supply Depot planned to have enough supplies for the entire populous shipped until replenishment arrived. In order to shelter homeless, the United States Navy set up tent villages across the island. Military kitchens were also established to provide food. Due to continued rains in the wake of the typhoon, many were unable to get a full meal for Thanksgiving.
  On November 21, insurance payments for losses were expected to exceed $12 million. On January 1, 1963, a $2 million relief fund was authorized by President Kennedy. Another $5.4 million in relief funds were provided by President Lyndon B. Johnson on February 15, 1964. The United States Congress provided Guam with $60 million, including $45 million through federal loans, mainly to help rebuild the territory and promote expansion of the economy. Additionally, the storm brought about the end of military security on the island, which in turn aided economic growth. Within five years of this decision, Japanese tourism to the island dramatically increased, prompting a major increase in the number of hotels. In the long term, Typhoon Karen, along with other destructive storms, shaped the development of the island's infrastructure. It 
caption: Debris from wooden homes was strewn across the island, leaving behind a scene described as a "massive junkyard".
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