Typhoon Chanchu

Typhoon Chanchu (international designation: 0601, JTWC designation: 02W, PAGASA name: Caloy) was early-forming tropical cyclone of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season. Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) estimated that the maximum sustained wind speed near its centre reached 185 km/h, making it the most intense typhoon on HKO's record to enter the South China Sea in May. The name submitted by Macau means "pearl".

The disturbance that would become Chanchu formed on May 5, 2006. When it was declared a tropical depression on the 9th, Chanchu became the third tropical cyclone of the season. It strengthened into a typhoon and struck the Philippines twice, killing 41 people and causing $1.9 million (2006 USD) in agricultural damage. It made its third and final landfall near Shantou in eastern Guangdong province early on May 18, 2006 local time (late May 17 UTC) as an 85 mph (135 km/h) typhoon and subsequently moved northeast into coastal Fujian province. The maximum gust was 67.3 m/s. Total damage in Fujian is estimated at $480 million (2006 USD), and deaths there reached 15. Off the coast of Vietnam, large swells produced by the storm caught thousands of fishermen off-guard, resulting in 204 fatalities.