Typhoon Vicente

Typhoon Vicente, known in the Philippines as Tropical Depression Ferdie, was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Chinese province of Guangdong since Typhoon Hagupit in 2008, and was regarded as the strongest storm to affect Hong Kong and Macau in more than ten years. The eighth named storm and third typhoon of the 2012 Pacific typhoon season, Vicente began as a tropical depression on July 18 northeast of the Philippines. Vicente soon steadily moved into the South China Sea, and began to intensify over warm sea waters and weak vertical wind shear, and began explosive intensification early on July 23, and started to charge toward the Guangdong region prompting the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) to issue the Hurricane Signal, No. 10, the first since York in 1999. The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau also hoisted Signal No. 9 for the first time since York and after the transfer of sovereignty over Macau. Late on the same day, Vicente made landfall over Taishan in Guangdong, China. The storm caused extensive damage throughout its path. Vicente’s precursor enhanced the southwest monsoon in the Philippines, leading to widespread rain and gusty winds in Luzon and the Visayas. In Hong Kong, 138 people were injured; however, no deaths were reported. Vicente also caused the Hong Kong plastic disaster, which resulted in containers filled with polypropylene pellets falling into and floating on the water. In China, Vicente caused 11 fatalities and significant infrastructural damage. Its remnants later moved into northeastern Vietnam, resulting in flash flooding and multiple landslides. Overall, Vicente caused an estimated US$321 million in damage in China and US$29.9 million in Vietnam.