page_title: Typhoon Neoguri (2008)
section_title: Preparations and impact
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Neoguri (2008) / Preparations and impact
caption_attribution_description: English: Ambo
context_page_description: Typhoon Neoguri, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ambo, was the earliest tropical cyclone on record to strike China. The first named storm in the 2008 Pacific typhoon season, named after the Korean word for raccoon dog, it formed from a low pressure area on April 13 to the east of the Philippine island of Mindanao, and after crossing the island it intensified into a tropical storm in the South China Sea. Environmental conditions allowed for quick strengthening, with Neoguri attaining typhoon status on April 16. The typhoon reached its peak intensity on April 18 as it approached the island of Hainan, and subsequently it turned northward. Due to increased wind shear and cooler waters, Neoguri rapidly weakened and made landfall as a minimal tropical storm in southern China on April 19.
  In the southern Philippines, the storm brought heavy rainfall, which left a person missing when a boat capsized. The typhoon left 40 fishermen missing in the South China Sea. Neoguri brought heavy rainfall as it made its final landfall on China, causing moderate damage totaling over ¥296 million. Three deaths occurred in China.
context_section_description: As Ambo (Neoguri) passed directly through many parts Visayas and Mindanao, PAGASA issued Public Storm Warning Signals for these areas. Signal number one was issued for southern Negros, Siquijor and Camiguin. This storm signal was later scaled back up until the storm reached Palawan and the South China Sea.
  As a tropical depression, Neoguri (Ambo) brought heavy rainfall to many portions of the Philippines, including even Metro Manila. In Cebu City, the precipitation caused flooding, which forced 62 people to evacuate their houses. In the Camotes Islands, rough waves capsized a motorboat with six passengers; five were rescued, with the other reported missing. But the storm at least alleviated for a few days the heat that has been experienced over Luzon from the past weeks. However, the storm did not stop the Palarong Pambansa (National Games in the Philippines) which was held in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, one of the areas said by PAGASA to see stormy weather.
  In preparation for the storm, about 21,800 fishing boats in the Chinese province of Hainan returned to port, and about 120,000 people evacuated from fish farms and low-lying areas on the island. Officials halted ferry service between Hainan and the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong province. Offshore, 56 fishermen rode out the storm in a shelter on the Paracel Islands; 38 people were rescued shortly after the storm, and initially eighteen people were reported missing. The eighteen missing fishermen were found thirty hours after Neoguri struck. The ship they were on had sunk, and the crew clung to debris and made makeshift rafts to survive in the waters. However, another 18 Chinese fisherman and 22 Vietnamese fisherman remain missing. On Hainan island, the storm left the city of Wenchang without power.
  Along the mainland, ferry service was temporarily stopped between Hong Kong and Macau. At the Hong Kong International Airport, over 200 flights were delayed due to the threat of the storm; additionally, around 30 were canceled, and 66 others were deviated elsewhere. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a standby warning signal on April 17, which was the second earliest standby signal on record.  One day later, the No. 3 strong wind signal was issued, the earliest in record. As it moved ashore, the storm brought heavy rainfall, with one station reporting 237 mm (9.35 in) in one day. Strong winds downed coconut and banana trees, with agricultural damage totaling over ¥200 million (2008 RMB, $28 million 2008 USD). Structural damage amounted to ¥96 million (2008 RMB, $14 million 2008 USD). Three fatalities were confirmed in China, two due to a road being covered in a mud flow, and another due to winds blowing a sheet of aluminum into a person, throwing them off the roof of a stadium.
caption: PSWS Map of the Philippines during the passage of Neoguri (Ambo)
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