page_title: Typhoon Omar
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Omar / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: This image shows Typhoon Omar with winds of 140 mph in the Western Pacific on August 31 at 0535 UTC.
context_page_description: Typhoon Omar of 1992, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Lusing, was the strongest and costliest typhoon to strike Guam since Typhoon Pamela in 1976. The cyclone formed on August 23 from the monsoon trough across the western Pacific Ocean. Moving westward, Omar slowly intensified into a tropical storm, although another tropical cyclone nearby initially impeded further strengthening. After the two storms became more distant, Omar quickly strengthened into a powerful typhoon. On August 28, it made landfall on Guam with winds of 195 km/h. The typhoon reached its peak intensity the next day, with estimated 1‑minute winds of 240 km/h, making it a "super typhoon" according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Omar weakened significantly before striking eastern Taiwan on September 4, proceeding into eastern China the next day and dissipating on September 9.
  On Guam, Omar caused one death and $457 million in damage. Strong gusts up to 248 km/h left nearly the entire island without power for several days. The outages disrupted the water system and prevented the island-based JTWC from issuing advisories for 11 days. Omar damaged or destroyed 2,158 houses, leaving 3,000 people homeless.
context_section_description: Immediately after Omar's landfall in Guam, former Governor Joseph Franklin Ada declared a state of emergency, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush declared the island a federal disaster area. In the wake of the storm, several people were arrested for looting. The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened up disaster assistance centers where residents were able to apply for federal aid; it ultimately provided about $18.4 million in assistance, including disaster housing, storm-related unemployment benefits, and grant programs for families or businesses, helping over 11,000 people. The federal government paid for 100% of the debris removal, emergency work, and reconstruction of uninsured public buildings, although it usually only provides 75% of the cost for typical disasters. This was due to the sequence of three significant tropical cyclones affecting the United States in three weeks; in addition to Omar, Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in August and Hurricane Iniki hit Hawaii in September. The Department of Defense assisted the affected areas with 27 members of the Guam National Guard and 700 members of the military. The military provided temporary housing, generators, and construction supplies, at a cost of $5.75 million, though most of the disaster needs were handled by the government. The local Red Cross provided $6 million in assistance after the storm. Due to the combined damages from Andrew, Iniki, and Omar, the United States Congress passed the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1992, which provided additional funding for the agencies responding to the disasters through the fiscal year ending on September 30.
  For 11 days, the JTWC on Guam was unable to continue operations, relying on a backup agency. The damage to the airport radar prompted the NEXRAD—a network of high-resolution weather radars—to be installed earlier than scheduled, in February 1993, and limited incoming and outgoing flights to the daytime. On August 30, a naval ship docked at Apra Harbor to provide a temporary mobile radar. By September 15, both ships that had been washed ashore were refloated. In the aftermath of the destruction, insurance companies decided to stop issuing new policies for structures not made of concrete. In January 1996, former Governor Carl Gutierrez issued an executive order, mandating that homes or storm shutters on the island withstand winds of at least 250 m/h (155 mph).
  The citizens left homeless by Omar resided in a tent city nicknamed Camp Omar, consisting of 200 tents holding more than 1,000 people. Volunteers and military efforts cleaned most of the debris on the island within a few weeks. Many important roads were reopened by three days after the storm. The power took four weeks to be restored island-wide, disrupting schools and businesses, although water access was expected to be restored within a few days of the storm. Schools reopened on September 14, and most businesses resumed their work by the end of the month. The United States military ceased relief operations on September 19, though complete recovery was disrupted by the passage of several subsequent typhoons. These storms caused less damage than normal after Omar wrecked the more vulnerable structures. As a result, it became difficult to discern the damage between Omar and Typhoon Gay in December 1992. A 1993 study in the medical journal Anxiety found that 7.2% of 320 participants affected by Omar developed acute stress reaction, and another 15% developed early traumatic stress response, especially those affected by the later typhoons. About 5.9% of the participants displayed symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, similar to the levels shown after Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
  Due to the destruction in Guam, the name Omar was retired and was replaced with Oscar in 1993.
caption: Satellite image of Omar on August 31 between Guam and Taiwan
exif: {}