TROPICAL CYCLONES IN 2006

Prapiroon was the second tropical cyclone to necessitate the issuance of Strong Wind Signal No. 3 in the year.

Prapiroon developed as a tropical depression about 260 km northeast of Manila in the afternoon of 31 July and moved westwards across Luzon. During the passage of Prapiroon, six people were killed in the Philippines, another two were reported missing and 14 000 people were evacuated. Agricultural losses were about US$ 640 000.

After entering the South China Sea, Prapiroon turned west-northwest on 1 August. It strengthened into a typhoon the next day and headed towards the western coast of Guangdong. Prapiroon made landfall to the east of Zhanjiang in the night of 3 August and started to weaken afterwards. It dissipated over Guangxi the following night. The adverse weather brought by Prapiroon inflicted severe damage to Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. Altogether, 80 people were killed, another nine were reported missing and more than 840 000 people were evacuated. About 29 000 houses toppled and the direct economic losses were over RMB$ 7.2 billion. In addition, two barges near Shangchuan Dao ran into emergency and requested the Hong Kong Government Flying Service for rescue operation.

In Hong Kong, the Standby Signal No. 1 was issued at 12.10 p.m. on 1 August when Prapiroon was 710 km to its southeast. With Prapiroon edging closer to Hong Kong, the Strong Wind Signal No. 3 was issued at 4.20 p.m. the next day, when Prapiroon was about 370 km to the south. Winds over the harbour area strengthened subsequently.

Prapiroon was closest to Hong Kong at around 2 p.m. on 3 August when it was centred about 260 km to the southwest. The lowest hourly sea-level pressure of 996.7 hPa was recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters at 5 p.m. the same day. Under the influence of Prapiroon's rainbands, occasional heavy rain with squalls affected the territory. As Prapiroon made landfall near Zhanjiang that night and weakened, winds over the harbour area gradually subsided. The No. 3 Signal was replaced by the Standby Signal No. 1 at 5.40 a.m. on 4 August. All tropical cyclone warning signals were cancelled at 3.40 p.m. the same day.

During the passage of Prapiroon, a number of containers at Kwai Chung and Tuen Mun were blown down, leading to one injury. Another seven people in various places in Hong Kong were wounded by fallen objects and there were numerous reports of signpost with imminent danger of falling. There were two vessel collisions, one at Ma Wan and the other at Tuen Mun. About seven hundred trees were blown down, and another 1 600 damaged. At the Hong Kong International Airport, 381 flights were cancelled and another 725 delayed. Besides, there were five reports of flooding and seven cases of landslides. In the New Territories, over 200 hectares of farmland were damaged.

Information on wind, rainfall and tide during the passage of Prapiroon is given in Tables 3.3.1-3.3.3. Figures 3.3.1-3.3.4 show the track of Prapiroon, rainfall distribution in Hong Kong, cloud imagery and radar imagery respectively.

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