Tropical Storm Dianmu was a weak

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

that struck

Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. History Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula. During the 19th century ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Northern Vietnam Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng S ...

in mid August 2016. It was the eighth named storm of the annual typhoon season.

Meteorological history

Tropical Storm Dianmu was first noted as a tropical disturbance, by the United States

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

(JTWC) during August 14, while it was located about to the south of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The disturbance was located within a narrow area of low vertical windshear and had a good outflow. Over the next day the system's low level circulation centre started to consolidate as it moved westwards, before it was classified as a tropical depression by the

Japan Meteorological Agency The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...

(JMA) during August 15. Over the next couple of days the system moved gradually westwards, before the JTWC issued a tropical cyclone formation alert on the system during August 17. The depression was named Dianmu by the JMA during August 18, after it had developed into a tropical storm, while the JTWC initiated advisories on the system and classified it as Tropical Depression 11W. After being named, Dianmu continued to move westwards under the influence of a subtropical ridge of high pressure located to the north of the system and made landfall on China's

. The system subsequently entered the

Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...

later that day, where it developed an eye feature on microwave imagery, before it peaked with sustained winds of 75 km/h (45 mph) as it made landfall on northern Vietnam during August 19. Over the next day Dianmu gradually weakened as it moved westwards through Vietnam, Laos and China's Yunnan province, before it degenerated into an area of low pressure over northern Myanmar during August 20. The remnant area of low pressure continued to be monitored, as it moved through parts of Myanmar and India, before it was last noted over Bangladesh.

Preparations and impact

China

Dianmu passed about to the southwest of Hong Kong, China during August 17, where it generated moderate to fresh easterly winds. As Dianmu moved slowly westwards, local winds over Hong Kong strengthened during that day, before the Strong Wind Signal No. 3 was issued for both territories, by the

Hong Kong Observatory The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Ho ...

and the

Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG, ; pt, Direcção dos Serviços Meteorológicos e Geofisicos) is a department of the Macao Government. It provides weather forecasts and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also provides ...

. Strong winds were subsequently observed over Hong Kong, before all signals were cancelled during August 18. On Hainan Island, around 40 000 people were evacuated, ahead of the system affecting the island while transportation service were also affected. Heavy rain associated with the system caused flooding in several places over the island, including in parts of the capital

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

. The heavy rain also brought the water level at the

Longtang Dam The Longtang Dam (龙塘大坝), also known as Longtang Reservoir and Nandu River Dam, is located on the Nandu River at Longtang, Hainan Longtang () is a town in Qiongshan District, Hainan, China. It is located on the west bank of the Nandu River ...

on the

Nandu River The Nandu River () is the longest river in Hainan Province, China. Its tributary is the Xinwu River. The river discharges into the Nandu River estuary at Haikou city, and then into Qiongzhou Strait. The river is 314 km long, with a discharge ...

to a ten-year high of . In total, Dianmu killed 6 people, and total economic losses in Mainland China were counted to be

CN¥ The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

3.18 billion (US$480.9 million).

Vietnam

Within Vietnam, 17 people were killed, while two others were missing. Over in Quảng Ninh, a total of 11 houses were collapsed. Total damages in the country amounted to 1.99 trillion VND (US$89 million).2016 VIETNAM REPORT
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dianmu 2016 Pacific typhoon season Typhoons in Vietnam Typhoons in China Typhoons in Laos Tropical cyclones in Myanmar August 2016 events in Asia 2016 disasters in Vietnam 2016 disasters in China

Dianmu Dianmu (), also known as Leizi, is the Chinese goddess of lightning, who is said to have used flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning across the sky. She is married to Leigong, the god of thunder. She is one of the gods who work together to ...