Typhoon Durian

Typhoon Durian (Reming)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 4 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Durian shortly before peak intensity on November 29
Formed	November 25, 2006
Dissipated	December 6, 2006
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 195 km/h (120 mph) 1-minute sustained: 250 km/h (155 mph)
Lowest pressure	915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg
Fatalities	More than 1,500
Damage	At least $530 million (2006 USD)
Areas affected	Yap State, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia
Part of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season and the 2006 North Indian Ocean cyclone season

Typhoon Durian, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Reming, was a violent tropical cyclone that wreaked havoc in the Philippines in late-November 2006, causing massive loss of life when mudflows from the Mayon Volcano buried many villages.

Durian first made landfall in the Philippines packing strong winds and heavy rains that caused mudflows near Mayon Volcano. After causing massive damage in the Philippines, it exited into the West Philippine Sea and weakened slightly, before managing to reorganise and restrengthen into a typhoon shortly before its second landfall, this time in Vietnam near Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, causing further damage of more than US$400 million. In all, Durian killed almost 2,000 people, and left hundreds more missing. Damages in the Philippines from the typhoon amounted to 5.086 billion PHP (US$130 million).

Typhoon Durian formed as a tropical depression on November 24, 2006 near Chuuk State. Situated south of a ridge, the system tracked west-northwest through a region of low wind shear and good upper-level divergence. Late on November 26, the depression intensified into a tropical storm and was named Durian by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Steady strengthening took place over the following two days as the system approached the Philippines. After attaining typhoon status on November 29, Durian underwent a period of rapid intensification, culminating with it attaining peak 10 minute maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a barometric pressure of 915 mbar (hPa; 27.02 inHg). Durian brushed the southern coast of the Catanduanes at this intensity on November 30, where a record gust of 320 km/h (200 mph) was observed.