Typhoon Molave

Typhoon Molave, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Quinta, was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Philippines and Indochina in late October 2020, and became the strongest to strike the South Central Coast of Vietnam since Damrey in 2017. The eighteenth named storm and eighth typhoon of the annual typhoon season, Molave originated from a tropical depression that formed on October 23 east of Palau. At 15:00 UTC the next day, the depression was upgraded into Tropical Storm Molave as it drifted generally northwestward. Molave soon became a typhoon on October 25 as it turned west, shortly before making five landfalls in central Philippines. After striking the Philippines, Molave entered the South China Sea and began to re-intensify. Molave attained its peak intensity on October 27 before weakening again as it approached Vietnam. The typhoon struck Vietnam on October 28, before rapidly weakening as it headed further into Indochina. Molave later dissipated on October 30, over Myanmar. After carving a path of destruction, 71 people have been confirmed dead and another 46 are missing from Molave. Preliminary damage is estimated at $743 million (2020 USD), though the total damage in Indochina is currently unknown.