Typhoon Damrey (2005)
Typhoon Damrey, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Labuyo, was a typhoon that hit Vietnam and China in late September 2005. The typhoon was the most powerful storm to affect Hainan in over 30 years, killing more than 113 people.
Meteorological history
Due to its proximity to the Philippines, PAGASA assigned it the name Labuyo and began issuing advisories to the east of the islands on September 19. The Japan Meteorological Agency gave warnings on the same day. On September 20, the storm was classified as a tropical depression 17W by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On September 21, the JTWC upgraded it to a tropical storm and assigned it the name Damrey. Damrey strengthened into a typhoon on September 24.Damrey made landfall at Wanning, China's Hainan, at 20:00 UTC on September 25. It had maximum sustained winds up to 180 km/h. This made Damrey the strongest typhoon to strike Hainan since Typhoon Marge in September 1973. At least 16 people are believed to have died in China, and the entire province of Hainan suffered power outages. Damrey went on to impact Vietnam before losing tropical characteristics. The JTWC ceased advisories on September 27, with the final one taking place at 09:00 UTC, once the system was south-southwest of Hanoi, Vietnam.
Preparations
In the Philippines, officials in the province of Ilocos Norte evacuated nearly 20,000 residents from flood-prone regions to schools being used as temporary shelters. In fourteen of the country's provinces, storm signal one, the lowest on a scale of four, was issued by meteorologists.Impact
Throughout southeastern Asia, Typhoon Damrey was considered one of the worst typhoons in history. Many places sustained damage not seen in several decades. In Hainan Island, the entire province was without power at one point, a highly unusual event. Additionally, Typhoon Damrey became the strongest storm to make landfall on the island since Typhoon Della in 1974. In Vietnam, Damrey was referred to as the worst typhoon to strike the country in nine years.Philippines
As a tropical storm, Damrey produced significant rainfall across portions of the Philippines. The highest rainfall total was recorded in Daet, Camarines Norte at. Widespread flash flooding triggered by these rains led to substantial agricultural and property damage. In the agricultural department alone, officials estimated that the storm wrought over 1 billion Philippine pesos in losses. Over 9,000 hectares of rice and corn fields were flooded in Isabela Province alone. Throughout the country, 16 people were killed as a result of flooding, several of whom were children from Isabela Province. Landslides along the major roadway between the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Cagayan were impassable, due to landslides and downed trees. Farther west, 35 villages were flooded in the provinces of Camarines Sur and Albay.China
Typhoon Damrey caused widespread destruction across Hainan becoming the strongest typhoon to hit the island in 30 years. It would be 9 years until a stronger typhoon hit Hainan that would be Rammasun and later Yagi 19 years later.There were 29 deaths in China.
The storm has left $1.5 billion dollars in damage.
Vietnam
Sustained wind speeds of with gusts reaching were recorded at the Văn Lý weather station in Nam Định. At another station in Thanh Hoá City, sustained winds reached. Rainfall from the storm exceeded 250 mm in several areas, including 401 mm at Km46, 348 mm in Chi Nê, 279 mm in Tam Đảo, and 382 mm in Đình Lập.Throughout Vietnam, 69 people were killed as a result of the typhoon. Torrential rains from the storm inundating 300,000 hectares of farmland and roughly 100,000 homes. Damage from the storm was estimated at nearly 3.3 trillion Vietnamese dongs. The most severe damage took place in northern Yen Bai province, where 51 people were either killed or missing. Roughly of dykes built to protect farmland from flooding were destroyed by the typhoon. More than 10,400 homes and schools were destroyed by floodwaters, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.