This year tropical storms and typhoons in the Western North Pacific and South China Sea will have names chosen from a new list which replaces the list of English names used in years past. The names were selected from local languages of the area in an effort to raise the awareness of tropical cyclones by using familiar local words. Coming up with a list of 130 names that were acceptable to everyone was not an easy task but well worth the effort. We all agreed that using local names that people recognize should encourage them to pay more attention to the warnings. The U.S. contributed 10 names of Palauan, Marshallese, and Chamorro origin.
Users can also hear the names pronounced in the local language by downloading the online software.