Typhoon Prapiroon (2006)
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Typhoon Prapiroon (), known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Henry, was a minimal typhoon which caused deadly flooding in southern
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in early August 2006. Prapiroon developed out of a persistent area of
convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...
accompanied by an
area of low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...
on July 25 about west-southwest of
Yap Yap (, sometimes written as , or ) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federate ...
. Two days later, both the
Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...
(JMA) and PAGASA classified the system as a tropical depression, with PAGASA giving it the local name 'Henry'. By July 31, the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
(JTWC) classified the system as Tropical Depression 07W. A strong
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
located to the north of the depression led to a west-northwest movement for most of the storm existence. A few hours after the JTWC began issuing advisories, the depression made landfall in Dilasag, Philippines. The next day, after crossing into the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and named Prapiroon. Several hours later, PAGASA issued their final advisory on the storm as it moved out of their area of responsibility. By the morning of August 2, Prapiroon intensified into a typhoon and reached its peak intensity with winds of 10-min). The typhoon maintained this intensity until shortly before landfall near Shangyang, China at 12:00 
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
on August 3, where it weakened to a severe tropical storm. Prapiroon quickly weakened and dissipated early on August 5. Severe flooding in the Philippines and China from Prapiroon killed 94 people and left 10 others missing. Over 20 million people were affected by the storm in China alone. Significant flight delays and cancellations in Hong Kong led to $1.9 million in compensation pay to travelers. About 30,000 homes collapsed and 140,000 others were damaged by the storm. Damages were estimated at $640,000 (2006 USD) in the Philippines and $984 million (2006 USD) in China. The
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
sought $4,825,791 (2006 USD) in funds for victims of the typhoon.


Meteorological history

On July 25, an area of
convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...
persisted about west-southwest of
Yap Yap (, sometimes written as , or ) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federate ...
. Satellite imagery indicated that a low level circulation had developed and was under an area of light to moderate
wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...
. The low traveled in a general northwest fashion as upper-level outflow improved. By July 27, the low deteriorated, becoming elongated, and convection remained disorganized. However, as the low neared
Central Luzon Central Luzon (; ; ; ; ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga (with its capital, San Fernando City serving as the re ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, shower and thunderstorm activity near the center of the low increased, and based on its organization, the
Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...
(JMA) classified the system a tropical depression early that morning. Shortly after, the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) agency of the P ...
(PAGASA) designated the system as Tropical Depression Henry. As the depression neared the northern Philippines, wind shear increased, partially exposing the center of the system to the south. At 02:30 
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
on June 30, the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
(JTWC) issued a
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formi ...
, and at 00:00 UTC the next morning, the JTWC classified the system as Tropical Depression 07W. Upon first becoming a
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
, the depression tracked towards the west-northwest due to a strong
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
located to the north of the system. A few hours later, the system made landfall in Dilasag, Philippines with winds of 1-minute winds). After being over land for most of July 31, the depression relocated into the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
and the JTWC determined that it intensified into a tropical storm. At around 06:00 UTC, the JMA designated the storm Tropical Storm Prapiroon about northwest of
Dagupan Dagupan , officially the City of Dagupan (, , ), is a 2nd class independent component city in the Ilocos Region, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 174,302 people. Located on Lingayen Gulf on the northwest-central ...
, Philippines, a few hours later, PAGASA issued their final advisory on Tropical Storm Henry (Prapiroon) as it moved out of their area of responsibility. Prapiroon gradually intensified as it moved towards the west-northwest at , and by that afternoon, the system had completely moved into the South China Sea. By the nighttime hours, the JMA upgraded Prapiroon to a severe tropical storm, as they determined that the maximum sustained winds had reached 10-minute winds). By the morning of August 2, the JTWC upgraded Prapiroon to a typhoon, and a few hours later, the JMA upgraded Prapiroon to a typhoon. Heading towards the northwest, Prapiroon reached its peak intensity early on August 3. The JMA estimated that Prapiroon peaked with winds of 10-minute winds) with a minimum pressure of 970 
mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure defined as 100,000  Pa (100 kPa), though not part of the International System of Units (SI). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea ...
(
hPa The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an S ...
; 28.64 
inHg Inch of mercury (inHg, ″Hg, or in) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in h ...
), while the JTWC estimated that the storm peaked with winds of 1-minute winds). Prapiroon maintained this intensity for 12 hours before weakening slightly as it made landfall near Shangyang at 12:00 UTC. At the time of landfall, the JMA downgraded Prapiroon to a severe tropical storm, with winds of 10-minute winds) while the JTWC analyzed Prapiroon to have had winds of 1-minute winds). Due to the interaction with land, the storm quickly weakened. Early on August 5, both agencies issued their final advisories on Prapiroon as it dissipated over central Guangxi.


Preparations


Philippines

As Tropical Depression 07W, locally named 'Henry' by PAGASA, neared the provence the northern Philippines, a total of 17 provinces were placed under a storm alert as winds of were likely to affect areas near the depression. Residents in the northern Philippines were advised to avoid low-lying areas and be alert for flooding. About 15,000 people were evacuated following heavy rains from the outer bands of the storm.


China

In advance of Prapiroon, government officials in
Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
sent out 11 million mobile text messages to alert people of the approaching storm. About 843,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, 335,000 in Guangdong, 382,000 in Guangxi, and 126,000 in Hainan. Officials ordered 62,023 ships to return to port to prevent them from being stranded at sea.


Hong Kong and Macau

The
Hong Kong Observatory The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Hong ...
(HKO) and Macau's Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau both hoisted strong wind signal 1 on August 1 as the system was located within of their respective cities. As Prapiroon neared the southern coast of China, the signal was raised to strong wind signal 3 as strong winds were expected to strike the area. In Macau in particular this was further increased to strong wind signal 8 SE on August 3, as gale-force winds were expected in the southeastern areas. All signals were cancelled the next afternoon as Prapiroon moved inland. Kindergarten and special schools in Hong Kong were suspended for at least two days for the day of and following the storms landfall.


Impact

In the wake of Prapiroon, severe flooding left 94 people dead and 10 others missing. Damages from the storm were estimated at $984.8 million (2006 
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
; $1.1 billion 2008 USD). Throughout southern China, Prapiroon affected over 20 million people.


Philippines

As a tropical depression, Prapiroon caused heavy rains over the northern Philippines, leaving six people dead. In
Candaba Candaba, officially the Municipality of Candaba (Kapampangan: ''Balen ning Candaba''; ; formerly Candawe), is a municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 119,497 people. History ...
, a two-year-old boy, identified as Elmer Celso, drowned in floodwaters outside his home. Five other fatalities were reported due to flooding. Two other people were listed as missing. Agricultural damage was estimated at $640,000 (2006 
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
).


China

Despite weakening to a severe tropical storm before landfall, Prapiroon brought torrential rains and flooding which left 88 people dead and eight others missing. About 10 million people were affected by the typhoon, while 30,000 homes collapsed and 140,000 others were damaged. Damages from the typhoon were estimated at $984 million (2006 USD; $1.1 billion 2008 USD). Guangdong Province was the hardest hit of the three provinces affected by Typhoon Prapiroon. About 3.72 million people were affected by the storm and 7,000 homes were destroyed in the province. A
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
struck Foshan, Shanwei and Shaoguan, killing nine. A police officer was killed when a landslide buried him during a rescue in Sihui. Another hard hit province, Guangxi, was struck by Prapiroon. About 5.1 million people were affected by the storm and 219,441 were displaced. Ten people were killed by a flash flood and landslide in Laibin and Hengxian. Another flash flood swept away a shelter which thirteen migrant workers resided in, all of whom were confirmed to have been killed. Three more people were killed when a landslide caused their home to collapse in Luming Village. About 9,300 homes and 195,900 hectares of farmland were destroyed.


Hong Kong

As Prapiroon neared Hong Kong, thousands of people were stranded in airports as hundreds of flights in and out of the area were cancelled. Twenty cargo containers in the harbour were tipped over and one person was injured by the falling containers. A total of 381 flights were cancelled and 725 were delayed, affecting about 10 million people. Compensation costs from the travel delays amounted to $1.9 million (2006 USD). According to airport authorities, the storm caused the worst disruption in the airport's 20-year history. Winds were recorded up to in the harbour. The highest gust was recorded on Green Island at . Seven people were injured by objects blown around by the wind. A cargo vessel, with a crew of 23, ran aground near the harbour. No injuries were reported from the incident. Two other incidents with vessels occurred near Ma Wan and Tuen Mun. Seven hundred trees were blown down and another 1,600 sustained damage. Maximum rainfall from Prapiroon was estimated at . Two landslides were also reported and about 200 hectares of farmland was damaged. A storm surge of was recorded. The Typhoon signal number 8 should have been hoisted as gales were recorded in most areas of the territory. As a result, the Hong Kong Observatory had to deal with a lot of criticism.


Aftermath

After Prapiroon dissipated, the regional Disease Prevention and Control Center of Guangxi Autonomous Region sent out eight teams of health workers to help avoid epidemics in affected areas. Despite the damage in the wake of the typhoon, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs did not activate any emergency response plans. The
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
sought for $4,825,791 (2006 USD) in funds to assist 240,000 people who were affected over a 12-month span. Reconstruction in the areas devastated by Prapiroon began shortly after the typhoon dissipated.


See also

* Other tropical cyclones named Prapiroon * Other tropical cyclones named Henry *
2006 Pacific typhoon season The 2006 Pacific typhoon season was a destructive and deadly season, although it was near-average in terms of activity with a total of 23 named storms, 15 typhoons, and six super typhoons. Compared to the previous season, more typhoons inflict ...
*
Timeline of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season The 2006 Pacific typhoon season was a destructive and deadly season, although it was near-average in terms of activity with a total of 23 named storms, 15 typhoons, and six super typhoons. Compared to the previous season, more typhoons inflict ...
* Typhoon Utor


References


External links


JMA General Information
of Typhoon Prapiroon (0606) from Digital Typhoon
JMA Best Track Data
of Typhoon Prapiroon (0606)
JMA Best Track Data (Graphics)
of Typhoon Prapiroon (0606)
JTWC Best Track Data
of Typhoon 07W Prapiroon
07W.PRAPIROON
from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prapiroon (2006) 2006 Pacific typhoon season 2006 disasters in the Philippines Typhoons in the Philippines Typhoons in China Typhoon Prapiroon Typhoons in Hong Kong Prapiroon