 Typhoon Wanda reached peak winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) in the South China Sea, and it made landfall on Hong Kong on September 1, producing gusts of 261 km/h (161 mph) which, in combination with a high storm surge, damaged thousands of huts and left 72,000 people homeless.Wanda left a total of 434 deaths, and it is estimated that an identical typhoon striking today would cause HK$2.6 billion ($335 million USD) in losses.The precursor disturbance to Typhoon Wanda was first observed on August 23 near Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.