Review of the 2006 Typhoon Season

For the 39th Session of the Typhoon Committee

ESCAP/WMO

Manila, Philippines

4–9 December 2006

People’s Republic of China

Review of the 2006 Typhoon Season

  1. Characteristics of Landing Tropical Cyclones

As mentioned above, from Jan. 1st to Oct. 31st 2006, 20 tropical cyclones in total formed over the Western North Pacific and South China Sea. 6 TCs whose landing intensities are over tropical storm categories made their landfalls over China during this period (see table1).

Table.1 List of Tropical cyclones landing over China (Jan. 1st to Oct. 31st, 2006)

TC Name/Number / Landing location / Time/Date / Maximum wind speed when landing (m/s) / Minimum SLP When landing (hPa)
Chanchu (0601) / Raoping-Chenghai, Guangdong / 18:15UTC,May.17 / 35 / 960
Jelawat (0602) / Zhanjiang,Guangdong / 23:40UTC Jun.28 / 15 / 998
Bilis (0604) / Yilan, Taiwan province / 15:00UTC,Jul.13 / 30 / 975
Xiapu, Fujian / 04:50UTC,Jul.14 / 30 / 975
Kaemi (0605) / Taidong, Taiwan province / 15:45UTC, Jul.24 / 40 / 960
Jinjiang, Fujian / 07:50UTC, Jul.25 / 33 / 975
Prapiroon(0606) / Yangxi-Dianbai,Guangdong / 11:20UTC,Aug.03 / 33 / 975
Saomai(0608) / Cangnan, Zhejiang / 09:25UTC, Aug.10 / 60 / 920
Bopha (0609) / Taidong, Taiwan province / 19:20UTC, Aug.08 / 23 / 990

Table1 showed that the intensities of 6 TCs whose landing intensities are over tropical storm categorieswere relatively intense when they landed. Four of them were in typhoon and upwards of typhoon categories, one was severe tropical storm and one was tropical storm. Super Typhoon Saomai (0608) was the most severe tropical cyclones landed in 2006, its maximum wind speed near center reached 60m/s.

The following lists the characteristics for landing tropical cyclones.

Landing time concentrated in midsummer

From July 13th to August 10th, there were 5 TCs landing over China Coastal Areas. The fact is that there is a TC landfall every six days during this period, the landing frequency is comparatively high. In September, no tropical cyclone landed over China. But there was more tropical cyclones landing over China at the same past time.

Landing TCs with higher intensity

Out of 6 TCswhose landing intensities are over tropical storm categories, 4 TCs reach typhoon category or above. The strongest one is super Typhoon Saomai (0608) with the maximum winds of 60m/s near its center when landing over ZhejiangProvince, and it is the most intense typhoon that hit China since 1949.

The Earlier Landing Time with Stronger Intensity

Typhoon Chanchu (0601) is the first TC landing over China in 2006 and the first numbered TC this year. It landed over Raoping-chenghai, Guangdong Province at 18:15UTC on May 17. Its landing time was 44 days earlier than the average. It is the typhoon that hit GuangdongProvince earliest and also one of the most intense typhoons that made landfall over China in May since 1949.

 Large Regions with Huge Disasters

More than 71 million people and 28,900 km2 farmland were affected by landing TCs in 2006. 1,261 people were killed and 420 people were missing. 670 thousands houses destroyed and 1,360 thousands houses were damaged. The direct economic losses were about 76.4 billion RMB Yuan.

  1. Narrative on Tropical Cyclones

CHANCHU（0601）

Tropical storm Chanchu (0601) formed at 12:00UTC May 9 2006 over sea east of Philippines. Afterwards it moved northwestward and gradually intensified. It became a severe tropical storm at 06:00UTC May 10 and intensified into a typhoon at 00:00UTC May 13. Then it gradually upgraded as a severe typhoon at 18:00UTC May 14. From 00:00UTC May 15, Chanchu suddenly turned to move northward from westward and was approaching to Guangdong Eastern Coastal Area. It downgraded to a typhoon at 09:00UTC May 17 while moving northward. Finally Chanchu made landfall over coastal area between Chenhai and Raopin, Guangdong province at 18:15UTC May 17 with the max winds of 35m/s near center. After landing, Chanchu turned to move northeastward and became a tropical depression at 08:00UTC May 18 inLuo Yuan, Fujian province. Then Chanchu moved into East China Sea and finally disappeared here at night May 18. Heavy rain hit Eastern Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Southeastern Jaingxi. Especially, the 24h precipitations in Southeastern Guangdong and Eastern Fujian are over 250mm. The maximum gale of 47.3m/s was recorded at 15:34UTC 17 Jul.inHuilai, Guangdong. 31 people died and 5 persons missing. The direct economic loss was estimated about 1039 million dollars

JELAWAT（0602）

Tropical storm Jelawat (0602) formed over South China Sea at 03UTC on Jun.27 2006. Afterwards it moved northwestward and approached Guangdong coastal area. It weakened into a tropical depression at 18UTC on Jun.28. Then it made landfall over Zhanjiang,Guangdong province with the max winds of 15m/s near center at 23:40UTC Jun.28. After landing, Jelawat continually moved northwestward and downgraded quickly. Finally, it disappeared in Guangdong province in the afternoon on Jul. 29. Jelawat’s precipitation alleviated high temperature and the drought in Hainan and Guangdong provinces.

BILIS (0604)

Tropical storm Bilis (0604) formed over sea east of Philippines at 06:00UTC on Jul.9 2006. Afterwards it moved northwestward with its intensity increasing gradually. It upgraded to a severe tropical storm at 06:00UTC Jul.11. Then it approached to northeastern part of Taiwan province. At 14:20UTC Jul. 13, Bilis made landfall over Yilan, Taiwan province with the max winds of 30m/s near center. After landing, Bilis moved westwards and it entered into Taiwan Strait at about 19:00UTC Jul. 13. It gradually approached to northern part of Fujian province. At 04:50UTC Jul. 14, Bilis landed onXiapu, Fujian province with the max winds of 30m/s near center. After hitting Fujian, Bilis moved continually westwards with its intensity weakening gradually. It downgraded to a tropical storm at 08:00UTC on Jul. 14 and then became a tropical depression again at 07:00UTC on Jul. 15 inJiangxi. Afterwards Bilis turned to move west-southwestwards, it crossed Hunan, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces successively. Finally Bilis disappeared in eastern part of Yunnan province. Many places over South China were plagued with heavy flood for torrential rain caused by Bilis and Southwest Monsoon. The maximum total precipitation of 634mm took place from 00:00UTC Jul. 13 to 00:00UTC Jul. 19 inChangtai, Fujian. 654 people died and 208 people missing. The direct economic loss was estimated about 4368 million dollars.

KAEMI (0605)

Tropical storm Kaemi (0605) formed over sea east of Philippines at 06:00UTC on Jul.19 2006. Afterwards it moved west-northwestward. It gradually upgraded to a severe tropical storm at 06:00UTC on Jul.20 and became a typhoon again at 00:00UTC on Jul.21. Then Kaemi turned to northwestward and gradually approached to southeastern part of Taiwan province. At 15:45UTC on Jul. 24, it landed over Taidong, Taiwan province with the max winds of 40m/s near center. After landing, Kaemi moved through Taiwan province and entered Taiwan Strait at about 20:00UTC on Jul.24. Then it approached to Fujian province and made landfall over Jinjiang, Fujian at 07:50UTC on Jul. 25 with the max winds of 33m/s near center. After landing over Fujian, Kaemi turned to move westward in 10-15 km per hour and weakened quickly. It became a tropical depression at 21:00UTC on Jul. 25 at Pinghe, Fujian province. Then it turned to northward and moved slowly. Finally Kaemi disappeared at the central part of Jiangxi province in the afternoon on Jul.27. Compared to Severe Tropical Storm Bilis (0604), the precipitation related to Kaemi is less than Bilis’. The heavy rain only took place near landing region. But severe flood still happened, especially in some inland mountain regions, the recorded maximum total precipitation was over 300mm from 19:00UTC 25 Jul. to 00:00UTC 26Jul. in Shangyou, Jiangxi Province. 38 people died and 35 missing. The direct economic loss was estimated about 716 million dollars.

PRAPIROON (0606)

Tropical storm Prapiroon (0606) formed over Central South China Sea at 06:00UTC Aug. 1 2006. Then it moved west-northwestward and gradually upgraded to a severe tropical storm at 12:00UTC Aug. 1. It intensified into a typhoon again at 05:00UTC Aug. 2 and approached to Guangdong province. At 11:20UTC Aug. 3, Prapiroon landed over between Yangxi and Dianbai, Guangdongprovince with the max winds of 33m/s near center. After landing, it turned to move northwestward with its intensity downgrading quickly. It became a tropical depression at 08:00UTC Aug. 4 in Guangxi province. Finally it disappeared in Guangxi. Heavy rain took place over Southeast China coastal areas,the maximum total precipitation of 429.1mm was recorded from 00:00UTC Aug. 3 to 00:00UTC Aug. 6 in Xisha Hainan province.The maximum gale of 45.3m/s was recorded in Dianbai, Guangdong province. 88 people died and 8 missing. The direct economic loss was estimated about 984 million dollars.

SAOMAI (0608)

Tropical storm Saomai (0608) formed over sea southeast of Guam in Western North Pacific at 12:00UTC Aug. 5 2006. Afterwards it moved northwestward with a speed of 20-25km per hour and intensified into a severe tropical storm at 21:00UTC Aug. 6. Then it upgraded to a typhoon at 06:00UTC Aug.7. As it was approaching to East China Sea, it strengthened quickly. At about 10:00UTC Aug. 9, Saomai upgraded to a super typhoon over sea near Ryukyu Islands. Its intensity reached the climax with 60m/s at about 12:00UTC Aug. 9. It entered into the southeastern waters of East China Sea in the evening Aug. 9. Then it speeded up and approached to the coastal area between Northern Fujian and Southern Zhejiang with a speed of 30 km per hour. At 09:25UTC Aug. 10, Saomai made landfall over the most southern Cangnan, Zhejiang province with the max winds of 60m/s and Minimum SLP 920hPa near center. According to statistics of the past 50 years, Saomai is the strongest tropical cyclone landing over China Mainland..

After Saomai landing over Zhejiang, it turned to move west-northwestward with its intensity downgrading quickly. Saomai weakened into a severe tropical storm at 15:00UTC Aug. 10. At 18:00UTC Aug. 10, it became a tropical storm again. Then Saomai kept its track and moved into Jiangxi province at about 21:00UTC Aug. 10. In Jiangxi province, Saomai downgraded to a tropical depression near 01:00UTC on Aug. 11. Afterwards it turned to move northwestward and entered into Hubei province in the afternoon Aug. 11. Finally Saomai disappeared in Southern Hubei.

During Saomai landing or later, force 11 to 12 wind in Beaufort scale hit coastal areas between Southeastern Zhejiang and northeastern Fujian. Moreover wind scale in some coastal regions reached Force 14 to 17. The maximum winds observed during landing in the two provinces all break historical records. The gales of 81.3m/s and 75.8m/s are recorded at Hedingshan Wind Power Plant in Cangnan, Zhejiang province and Hezhangyan in Fuding, Fujian province respectively. And torrential rain took place over Southern Zhejiang, Northern Fujian and Northern Jiangxi. The maximum total precipitation of 430mm is recorded from 00:00UTC Aug. 10 to 00:00UTC Aug. 12 at Yunyan in Cangnan, Zhejiang province. 456 people died and 110 missing. The direct economic loss was estimated about 2469 million dollars.

BOPHA (0609)

Tropical storm Bopha (0609) formed over sea east of Taiwan province in Western North Pacific at 09:00UTC Aug. 6 2006. Afterwards it moved westward and was approaching to Southeastern Taiwan province with daily variation in intensity. At 00:00UTC on Aug. 7, Bopha upgraded to a severe tropical storm. Then it weakened to a tropical storm at 12:00UTC on Aug. 7 and downgraded to a tropical depression over sea east of Taiwan province at 18:00UTC on Aug. 7. Bopha intensified into a tropical storm again at 21:00UTC on Aug. 7 and made landfall over Taidong, Taiwan province with the max winds of 23m/s near center at 19:20UTC on Aug. 8. After landing, Bopha crossed southern Taiwan province with westward track and entered Taiwan Strait at about 00:00UTC on Aug. 9. Then it was approaching to Guangdong and gradually turned to move southwestward with its downgrading intensity. Bopha became a tropical depression again at night on Aug. 9 and finally disappeared over Northern Waters of South China Sea the next night. Heavy rain took place over Zhujiang delta and Western Guangdong coastal area. The maximum total precipitation of 105mm is recorded from 00:00UTC Aug. 9 to 00:00UTC Aug. 10 inHuazhou, Guangdong province.