Typhoon Saomai

Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: August 10, 2006, 1:00:00 PM

Typhoon Saomai, the eighth typhoon to hit China this year, made landfall at the town of Mazhan, Cangnan County, in the province of Zhejiang at 5:00 local time on Thursday, August 10. According to information from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Saomai had sustained winds of approximately 220 kph (136 mph) at landfall. More than 1.3 million people had been evacuated from Zhejiang and Fujian provinces in advance of Saomai’s arrival. Some 32,000 vessels were called back to port in Zhejiang, and 36,000 were called back to port in Fujian. Flights to the capital of Fujian province were cancelled. According to Xinhua News Agency, Saomai has destroyed more than 1,000 houses and flooded more than 20,000 hectares of rice fields around Cangnan County. Virtually all of the power lines in the county are down and communication outages are widespread. To the south, in Fujian province, two people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured. Just last week, Typhoon Prapiroon was responsible for at least 80 deaths from floods and landslides in Guangdong province. Last month, floods from Tropical Storm Bilis killed more than 600 people. Most houses in rural areas in this part of China are masonry construction with heavy roofs (fire dried clay tiles). These houses, as well as apartment buildings (mainly made of reinforced concrete), can sustain considerable, primarily non-structural damage in wind speeds like those generated by Saomai. Metal roofs, such as those commonly used on small commercial establishments and industrial buildings, are particularly susceptible, with damage starting at the corners, where wind loads are higher. High-rise buildings—generally built to higher standards—should perform well, though window damage is likely to occur in some high-rise buildings. AIR estimates that there is approximately RMB 3.5 trillion in residential and commercial exposure combined within Saomai’s wind speed footprint. China is experiencing an unusually active typhoon season this year. According to China's weather bureau, higher than normal sea surface temperatures are largely responsible, with weather patterns over Tibet bringing storms farther inland than would typically be the case.

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Posting Date: August 10, 2006, 1:00:00 PM