page_title: Typhoon Xangsane
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Xangsane
caption_attribution_description: Typhoon Xangsane formed on September 25, 2006, in the western Pacific near the coast of the Philippine Islands. Over the next 36 hours, it grew from a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) to a typhoon. As of September 27, it was right on the eastern edge of the Philippines, with the eye of the storm sitting just offshore. Winds had reached 210 kilometers per hour (130 miles per hour) near the core of the storm, according to the University of Hawaii’s Tropical Storm Information Center. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on September 27, 2006, at 1:00 p.m. local time (05:00 UTC). Xangsane at the time of this image was a well-defined, spiraling swirl of clouds, with a distinct, but cloud-filled (“closed”) eye. The arm structure was not tightly wound, a trait of a moderately young storm. According to news reports, the Philippine Coast Guard had suspended ferry traffic at ports across the region due to strong winds and high waves, leaving thousands of passengers temporarily stranded. Heavy rains triggered flash flooding that had trapped perhaps 100 families in their homes in the central Philippines. Storm track projections on September 27 suggested that the typhoon would lose power as it crossed the islands and rebuild only slightly as it continued west across the South China Sea. The storm was predicted to come ashore on the Asian mainland in central Vietnam on or around October 2. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS’ full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions.
context_page_description: Typhoon Xangsane was a deadly typhoon that affected the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand during the 2006 Pacific typhoon season. It was the fifteenth tropical storm and ninth typhoon recognized by the Japan Meteorological Agency operationally during the season, although in post-operational analysis it became the tenth typhoon of the season with the addition of Typhoon Maria. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Xangsane was the sixteenth tropical storm and tenth typhoon of the season, and was a Category 4-equivalent typhoon in terms of 1-minute average wind speeds. The name Xangsane was submitted by Laos and means elephant.
  Xangsane made landfall in the Philippines, battering the northern islands with torrential rains and strong winds, and causing widespread flooding and landslides. After passing over Manila and emerging over the South China Sea, the typhoon made a second landfall in central Vietnam, also causing flooding and landslides there and in Thailand. The storm was responsible for at least 279 deaths, mostly in the Philippines and Vietnam, and at least $747 million in damage.
context_section_description: Typhoon Xangsane (international designation: 0615, JTWC designation: 18W, PAGASA name: Typhoon Milenyo) was a deadly typhoon that affected the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand during the 2006 Pacific typhoon season. It was the fifteenth tropical storm and ninth typhoon recognized by the Japan Meteorological Agency operationally during the season, although in post-operational analysis it became the tenth typhoon of the season with the addition of Typhoon Maria. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Xangsane was the sixteenth tropical storm and tenth typhoon of the season, and was a Category 4-equivalent typhoon in terms of 1-minute average wind speeds. The name Xangsane was submitted by Laos and means elephant.
  Xangsane made landfall in the Philippines, battering the northern islands with torrential rains and strong winds, and causing widespread flooding and landslides. After passing over Manila and emerging over the South China Sea, the typhoon made a second landfall in central Vietnam, also causing flooding and landslides there and in Thailand. The storm was responsible for at least 279 deaths, mostly in the Philippines and Vietnam, and at least $747 million (2006 USD) in damage.
caption: Xangsane east of the Philippines on September 27
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