Typhoon Shanshan, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Luis, was a strong

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

that affected parts of

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

in mid-September 2006. The 13th named storm 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 Shanshan was also the seventh typhoon of the year operationally recognised by 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 ...

. In post-operational analysis Shanshan became the eighth typhoon of the year when Typhoon Maria was added to the list. 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 ...

considered Shanshan the 13th tropical storm and eighth typhoon of the season, a Category 4-equivalent typhoon in terms of 1-minute average wind speed. The name ''Shanshan'' was submitted to the naming list by

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and is a girls'

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. Shanshan wreaked havoc in Japan, with reports that it caused 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 ...

which derailed a train. It made landfall first in the

Yaeyama Islands The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 ''Yaeyama-rettō'', also 八重山諸島 ''Yaeyama-shotō'', Yaeyama: ''Yaima'', Yonaguni: ''Daama'', Okinawan: ''Yeema'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Yapema'') are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa Pref ...

, where it caused heavy rains, and later in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

. The outer bands of Shanshan also affected South Korea. Shanshan also knocked power out to thousands of homes in the two countries, and killed at least eleven people. Damage amounted to $2.5 billion (2006 USD), making Shanshan the sixth costliest disaster worldwide in 2006.

Meteorological history

On September 9, 2006, the

identified a

tropical depression 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 ...

with 25-knot 10-minute average sustained winds about 500

kilometre The kilometre (SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, American and Philippine English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is the ...

s (300 mi) north-northeast 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 ...

, near

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

14.0°N

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

139.0°E. Later that day, 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) picked up on the tropical depression and started issuing track forecasts for the system. As the system continued to move northwestward, the

initiated advisories on Tropical Depression 14W on the morning of September 10. Later that day, the tropical depression moved into the

PAGASA The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog language, Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS ...

Area of Responsibility, and was named ''Luis''. As the system continued to strengthen, the JMA upgraded the depression to a storm at 1200

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 ...

and named it ''Shanshan'', a girls'

submitted by

. The HKO did the same at the same time, upgrading the depression to a storm. The storm quickly strengthened, being upgraded twice by the JMA on September 11, at 0600 UTC to a severe tropical storm and at 1800 UTC to a typhoon, becoming the seventh official typhoon of the season. It then took on a more west-northwesterly track, weakening while undergoing an

eyewall replacement cycle In meteorology, eyewall replacement cycles, also called concentric eyewall cycles, naturally occur in intense tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds greater than , or hurricane-force, and particularly in major hurricanes of Saffir–Simps ...

on September 14. However, it restrengthened, reaching its maximum intensity of from the JMA and from the JTWC before passing

Iriomote is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. The island has an area of and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors—over ...

on September 15. Originally expected by the JTWC to pass to the east of

Okinawa Island , officially , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese archipelago, main islands of Japan. The island is ...

, a

subtropical high The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges or highs. It is a high-pressure ...

-pressure ridge south of the main

Japanese islands The is an archipelago of 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine seas in the southwest along the Pacific coast of the Eurasian continent, and cons ...

forced the storm to take a more westward track, pushing it towards

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Shortly later, Shanshan passed directly over

. PAGASA issued their final advisory later on September 16. Peak intensity for Typhoon Luis as reported by PAGASA while it was in their area of responsibility was only . Shanshan made landfall on September 17 on the island of

. The HKO issued their final track forecast on the weakening typhoon later that day as it passed out of their area of responsibility, with the peak intensity while within HKO's area of responsibility set at . The JTWC declared the system

extratropical Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

shortly after. The JMA downgraded the typhoon to a severe tropical storm at 0000 UTC September 18. Just before crossing the island of

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, according to the JMA's best-track graphic, Severe Tropical Storm Shanshan became extratropical twelve hours later. The extratropical storm was tracked by the JMA in their high seas marine warnings until September 22.

Preparations

In anticipation of Typhoon Shanshan, the

Central Weather Bureau The Central Weather Administration (CWA; ) is the government meteorological research and forecasting institution of Taiwan (the Republic of China). In addition to meteorology, the Central Weather Administration also makes astronomical observation ...

issued a marine warning for all ships in the areas around the north and the east coasts of the island and in the

Bashi Channel The Bashi Channel () is a waterway between Mavulis Island of the Batanes Islands, Philippines and Orchid Island of Taiwan. It is a part of the Luzon Strait, with the Pacific Ocean to the east, and is between the East China Sea and the South Chin ...

. Tourists were also asked to avoid the areas due to fears over large waves. The

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

provincial government in the People's Republic of China also asked all fishermen to return to port and ordered local authorities to help with evacuations of people from areas threatened by the typhoon. In Japan, the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

and its navy took precautions against the approaching storm.

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

was put under

Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Tropical cyclone warnings and watches are alerts issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local pop ...

(TCCOR) 1-E, which means that all outdoor activities are prohibited as there are sustained winds of at least in force, on September 16, with over 100 flights into and out of

Naha International Airport is an international airport located west of the city hallAIS Japan
in

Kadena Air Base (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA: DNA, International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: RODN) is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena, Okinawa, Kadena and Chatan, Okinawa, Chatan and the ...

moved various aircraft to other undisclosed locations in the Pacific. Sasebo Naval Base declared TCCOR 1-E on September 17. The USS ''Harpers Ferry'' (LSD-49) and USS ''Juneau'' (LPD-10) both left the base, while the USS ''Patriot'' (MCM-7) was moved to a wet berth. Only one vessel, the USS ''Tortuga'' (LSD-46) remained in port for repairs, because authorities thought that the ship could withstand the storm. Elsewhere in Japan, some flights and

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

bullet trains were delayed or cancelled. In Miyazaki and

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

prefectures, evacuation orders were issued for almost 170 families. In

, 10,000 people voluntarily evacuated their houses for higher ground. The island's seven main airports were closed, causing 41,900 passengers to be stranded when 357 flights were cancelled. Ahead of an expected landfall on

, the JMA warned residents of the possibility of high winds. Typhoon warnings were issued for

Jeju Jeju may refer to: South Korea * Jeju Island (Jejudo), South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo ** Jeju City, its capital ** Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju language ** The ...

and the southern and eastern coasts of South Korea ahead of the storm. Passenger ships normally serving

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

remained in port. In

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, ports were closed, and in

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

, 1,600 ships remained in port. In

South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple tha ...

, authorities banned departures from the port at

Tongyeong Tongyeong (; ) is a coastal Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It has an area of and in 2010, a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup (town), 6 myeon (township) and 11 dong (n ...

, stranding over 16,000 fishing boats. The Korean Coast Guard said that a total of 52,000 ships remained at ports across the nation.

Mount Jiri Jirisan () is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island's Hallasan, and is the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea. The 1915m-high mountain is located in ...

was also closed ahead of the storm's passage through Korea, which was expected to bring up to of rain.

Impact

South Korea

In South Korea, Jeju Island reported of rain by September 16, well before the typhoon hit, while

had reported . Shanshan knocked out

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

to nearly 4,000 homes in southeastern South Korea. A ship off

Ulleungdo Ulleungdo (), also spelled Ulreungdo, is a South Korean island east of the Korean Peninsula in the Sea of Japan. It was formerly known as Dagelet Island or Argonaut Island in Europe. Volcanic in origin, the rocky steep-sided island is the top o ...

sank, but no casualties were reported from that incident. A sailor died when trying to dock boats on Jeju-do.

Japan

Shanshan's effects on Japan and its outlying Pacific islands were widespread. On

, a peak gust of was recorded, the strongest ever on record since records started in 1972. On

Ishigaki, Okinawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It includes Ishigaki Island, Ishigaki island and the Senkaku Islands territory. The city is the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands. New Ishigaki Airport serves ...

, a peak gust of was reported, with rainfall rates of up to 50 mm per hour (2 inches per hour) reported. Over 25,000 homes on Ishigaki lost power after 182 utility poles were downed by the storm, and at least 12 people on the island were injured. Eight vessels were reported to have capsized. At

, of rain were reported, with a maximum gust of recorded.

Naha International Airport is an international airport located west of the city hallAIS Japan
in

reported a recorded maximum wind gust to . In

Motobu, Okinawa is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kunigami District, Okinawa, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of October 2016, the town has an estimated population of 13,441 and a population density, density of 250 persons per km2. The ...

, high waves damaged the local port and swept 30 cargo containers to sea, while in

Okinawa City is the second-largest city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, following Naha, the capital city. It is located in the central part of the island of Okinawa, about north of Naha. As of 1 October 2020, the city has an estimated population of 142,752 a ...

, six injuries were reported. One building in the city suffered a wall collapse, and at least 70 houses were damaged. Off

, a

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

-registered car ferry capsized, killing one crew member. A train was derailed, possibly due to a tornado, injuring five people. On the island, an electrician in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

died after an industrial container at his firm fell on top of him, crushing him. A glass entrance of a

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

Nobeoka 270px, Central Nobeoka City is a city located in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,367 in 51272 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the city is . ...

broke on impact with flying debris, killing one person. Elsewhere in the prefecture, a 42-year-old man died in his bedroom when it was crushed, while an elderly woman farmer died when she was hit by a fallen tree outside a

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

. Three other deaths were confirmed on the island. Meanwhile, in Hiroshima Prefecture, a 50-year-old firefighter was killed when he drowned after being swept away by rising flood waters. A journalist went missing in similar circumstances, and was found dead a few days later. In all, Typhoon Shanshan killed 11 people and injured over 260 others. Shanshan is also credited with

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

4.9 million worth of net losses in the third financial quarter for IPC Holdings, Ltd.

References

Shanshan Shanshan (; ) was a kingdom located at the north-eastern end of the Taklamakan Desert near the great, but now mostly dry, salt lake known as Lop Nur. The kingdom was originally an independent city-state, known in local Gandhari documents as '' ...