The typhoon brought heavy rain and wind to areas of the Mariana Islands, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the east coast of China. It was responsible for 458 deaths and $2.5 billion in damage. Saomai affected many of the same areas affected by Tropical Storm Bilis a month earlier, and the China Meteorological Administration reported that Saomai was the strongest typhoon that ever occurred over China's offshore region as well as the most powerful typhoon ever to make landfall over Mainland China.
Meteorological history
A tropical disturbance formed east of Chuuk on July 31 and gradually increased in organization over the next several days as it moved northwestward. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the system on August 4, it was designated a tropical depression by both the JTWC and the Japan Meteorological Agency later that day. The depression strengthened into a tropical storm on August 5, and the JMA designated it Tropical Storm Saomai.
Saomai continued moving toward the northwest and passed over the Mariana Islands on August 6 while continuing to strengthen, and was upgraded to a severe tropical storm by the JMA later that day. The storm then began organizing and intensifying more rapidly, becoming a typhoon early on August 7. Saomai moved into the area of responsibility of on August 8, and was designated Typhoon Juan. Rapid intensification continued, and Saomai reached its peak intensity of 105 s on August 9 north of Miyakojima.
After passing to the south of Okinawa, Saomai turned westward and brushed the northern coast of early on August 10, before making landfall in later that day. Gradual weakening ensued as Saomai moved further inland, and it weakened into a tropical depression on August 11, dissipating later that day.
Preparations
The United States National Weather Service issued a for Guam as Tropical Storm Saomai approached the island on August 6. Military bases in northern Guam entered Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 1, meaning that winds of 50 s or higher were expected within 12 hours. The rest of the island was placed under Condition of Readiness 2, meaning that such winds were possible within 24 hours. Several bases were temporarily closed.
The Central Weather Bureau of the Republic of China issued land and marine typhoon warnings for areas of northern Taiwan in anticipation of Saomai's outer bands. The warnings had been upgraded from lesser warnings issued for , which made landfall in southern Taiwan the day before.
In China, 990,000 people in Zhejiang and 569,000 people in Fujian were evacuated to shelters prior to Saomai's landfall. Over 20,000 soldiers and police were mobilized to aid in cleanup and rescue efforts.
Impact
While still a tropical storm, Saomai passed over Guam, bringing rain and wind to the island, but no damage or deaths were reported.
The core of the typhoon passed to the north of Taiwan, but the island still experienced heavy rain and wind that disrupted traffic and cancelled flights to and from Taipei. No serious damage or casualties were reported. Afterwards, Saomai made landfall in Zhejiang province, where 87 deaths were reported, mostly in Wenzhou. Over 18,000 homes were destroyed, and major highways in the province were flooded out. Saomai was responsible for 4.9 billion in damage in Zhejiang. Strong winds and flooding destroyed 37,000 houses and flooded 380 km? of farmland, and economic damage amounted to 6.3 billion yuan.
Another two people were killed in Jiangxi. One person was washed away in floodwaters while inspecting damage, while another person was killed when a damaged building collapsed. Six reservoirs in the province were destroyed, and 348 million in damage was reported.
Aftermath
The made an appeal for almost 6 million Swiss francs to assist stricken families in the . As of August 11, 2006, about 1.8 million Chinese yuan worth of relief items and financial assistance had been given to the victims. The PRC government also allocated 120 million yuan for disaster relief in areas affected by Saomai and earlier storms. The funds were used to provide food and water for displaced victims and pay for the rebuilding effort in Zhejiang and Fujian.
The name ''Saomai'' was retired at the 39th annual meeting of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee in Manila in December 2006. In December 2007, the committee selected the name ''Son Tinh'' to replace Saomai on the s beginning in .
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