dikes were destroyed. Following the storm, at least 11,000 people were left homeless. Tip destroyed apple, rice, peach and other crops. Five ships sank in heavy seas off the coast and 50-story buildings swayed in the capital, Tokyo. Transportation in the country was disrupted; 200 trains and 160 domestic flights were canceled. Tip was described as the most severe storm to strike Japan in 13 years. Records and meteorological statistics Typhoon Tip was the largest tropical cyclone on record, with a diameter of —almost double the previous record of in diameter set by Typhoon Marge in August 1951. At its largest, Tip was nearly half the size of the contiguous United States. The temperature inside the eye of Typhoon Tip at peak intensity was and described as exceptionally high. With 10-minute sustained winds of , Typhoon Tip is the strongest cyclone in the complete tropical cyclone listing by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The typhoon was also the most intense tropical cyclone on record, with a pressure of , lower than the previous record set by Super Typhoon June in 1975. The records set by Tip still technically stand, though with the end of routine reconnaissance aircraft flights in the western Pacific Ocean in August 1987, modern researchers have questioned whether Tip indeed remains the strongest. After a detailed study, three researchers determined that two typhoons, Angela in 1995 and Gay in 1992, registered higher Dvorak numbers than Tip, and concluded that one or both of the two may have therefore been more intense. Other recent storms may have also been more intense than Tip at its peak; for instance, satellite-derived intensity estimates for Typhoon Haiyan of 2013 indicated that its core pressure may have been as low as . Due to the dearth of direct observations and Hurricane hunters into these cyclones, conclusive data is lacking. In October 2015, Hurricane Patricia reached an estimated peak intensity of , with maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 345 km/h (215 mph), making Patricia the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded worldwide. However, the NHC noted in their report on the cyclone that Patricia may have surpassed Tip at the time of its peak intensity, as it was undergoing rapid intensification; however, due to the lack of direct aircraft observations at the time of the storm's peak, this possibility cannot be determined. Despite the typhoon's intensity and damage, the name Tip was not retired and