Typhoon Saomai

Typhoon Saomai (Juan)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Saomai near landfall in East China on August 10, with Bopha to its southwest
Formed	August 4, 2006
Dissipated	August 15, 2006
(Extratropical after August 11, 2006)
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 195 km/h (120 mph) 1-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph)
Lowest pressure	925 hPa (mbar); 27.32 inHg
Fatalities	458 total
Damage	$2.5 billion (2006 USD)
Areas affected	Mariana Islands, Taiwan, China
Part of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Saomai, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Juan, was considered the most powerful typhoon on record to strike the east coast of the People's Republic of China. It was the eighth tropical storm, fifth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season recognized by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Saomai was the seventh tropical storm and fifth typhoon of the season. The name "Saomai" was submitted by Vietnam, and is from the Vietnamese word for "morning star" (sao Mai), a reference to the planet Venus.

The typhoon brought heavy rain and wind to areas of the Mariana Islands, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the east coast of China. It was responsible for 458 deaths and $2.5 billion (2006 USD) in damage. Saomai affected many of the same areas affected by Tropical Storm Bilis a month earlier, and the China Meteorological Administration reported that Saomai was the strongest typhoon that ever occurred over China's offshore region as well as the most powerful typhoon ever to make landfall over Mainland China.

A tropical disturbance formed east of Chuuk on July 31 and gradually increased in organization over the next several days as it moved northwestward. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the system on August 4 and it was designated a tropical depression by both the JTWC and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) later that day. The depression strengthened into a tropical storm on August 5, and the JMA designated it Tropical Storm Saomai.