Near where Etau first struck Japan, Muroto reported a peak wind gust of 166 km/h (103 mph), at the time the third strongest on record there.

Nationwide, Etau killed 20 people, destroyed 708 houses, and caused ¥98.1 billion (JPY, $824 million USD) in damage.

[nb 1] The origins of Typhoon Etau were from an area of convection that persisted along the west side of a weak circulation near Chuuk State on July 31.

[4] That day, another circulation was developing on the western side of the system, briefly classified by the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau as a tropical depression.

[2] Later on August 2, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)[nb 3] classified the system as a tropical depression to the northeast of Yap.

[4] On August 4 the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) began issuing advisories as the storm approached the region, naming it Kabayan.

[4] After reaching peak winds, Etau began turning to the north-northeast due to the approaching trough, passing near Amami Ōshima.

[4] The typhoon still maintained 10 minute winds of 140 km/h (87 mph) when it made landfall near Muroto on the Japanese island of Shikoku, shortly before 1300 UTC on August 8.

Continuing northeastward, the typhoon weakened into a severe tropical storm as it passed near Awaji Island, before making landfall on Honshu near Nishinomiya at 2100 UTC on August 8.

After briefly reaching open waters to the northeast of Honshu, the storm made its final landfall near Erimo, Hokkaido at 1630 UTC on August 9, shortly before becoming extratropical.

[4] The remnants of Etau entered the Sea of Okhotsk and persisted for several more days, dissipating on August 12 to the west of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

[5] Rough waves from Typhoon Etau produced rip currents on Saipan that swept up four swimmers, who were later rescued after holding onto a buoy.

[17] Landslides also swept about 65,000 m3 (2,300,000 cu ft) of soil and trees into the Appetsu River, which caused additional damage by washing away adjacent homes and bridges.

[20] The heavy rainfall in Tokushima caused landslides and blocked roads, resulting in disruptions to bus and train service.

[32][nb 5] Largely because Etau remained tropical and weakened over Japan, damage was much less than Typhoon Tokage a year later, which produced comparable rainfall totals at a similar intensity but struck the country while extratropical.