before becoming a depression over the South China Sea. It intensified into a tropical storm as it turned southwestward over the South China Sea, passing close to Vietnam, but it dissipated southeast of the Mekong Delta. Typhoon Patsy (Yoling) A tropical disturbance organized into Tropical Depression 27W on November 14 near the Marianas Islands. A strong ridge to its north forced it westward, where it strengthened to tropical storm status later on the 14th. Patsy steadily intensified, reaching typhoon strength on the 16th and peaking at 155 mph on the 18th. Its inflow became disrupted by the Philippines to its west, and Patsy hit Luzon on the 19th with winds of 130 mph, making it the 3rd strong typhoon since September to strike the island. After crossing the island, Patsy traversed the South China Sea, where cooler waters kept the system a tropical storm. On November 22, Patsy struck Vietnam, and dissipated soon after. Typhoon Patsy was one of the deadliest typhoons to strike the Philippines in its history. 611 people were killed (with 351 missing) on the island, and 135 people were killed at sea due to shipping failures. Because the Vietnam War was raging at that time, it is difficult to say about the damage or death toll, but estimates say that 30 people died in Vietnam. Tropical Storm Ruth (Aning) Tropical Storm Ruth formed as a disturbance far at sea, then slowly travelled westward, but it did not intensify into a tropical depression until it was in the South China Sea. It briefly became a tropical storm south of the Mekong Delta, but it weakened into a tropical depression before it crossed just south of Cape Cà Mau. The remnants of Ruth dissipated just off the coast of Thailand. Tropical Depression Bidang Other systems According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, on September 2 Tropical Cyclone Dot briefly crossed the International Date Line from the Central Pacific into its area of responsibility, crossing back later that day. Storm names Western North Pacific tropical cyclones were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The first storm of 1970 was named Nancy and the final one was named Ruth. One Central Pacific System developed, Hurricane Dot. The policy at that time was to use Western Pacific Names for the Central Pacific. Philippines The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration uses its own naming scheme for tropical cyclones in their