Death toll now 319 dead, at least 147 missing in China.
Also 2 dead and 7 missing in the Philippines.
WPAC: Typhoon Saomai (0608)
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HurricaneBill
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Matt-hurricanewatcher
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Chinese complain of no typhoon warning By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer
Wed Aug 16, 7:03 AM ET
BEIJING - Villagers in south China on Wednesday accused the government of failing to give adequate warning before Typhoon Saomai slammed into the region last week and said the official death toll should be at least three times higher.
State media said Saomai, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in five decades, killed 319 people after rescuers found another 24 bodies Tuesday in waters off the port city of Fuding in Fujian, the province that was hardest-hit by the storm.
By Tuesday, 202 people had been confirmed dead in Fuding, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
However, residents in Fuding and its surrounding villages say the number of dead is higher than reported and accuse the government of failing to warn the public adequately. Family members of the dead say at least 1,000 people were killed in the storm, Xinhua said on its Web site.
"The government took too much for granted," one villager in Nanzhen told The Associated Press by telephone. "They only broadcast the typhoon forecast on TV, but a lot of fishermen who live on or near their boats do not watch TV at all."
"We didn't get enough warning about this typhoon. That's the main reason for such a loss," said the villager, who refused to give his name for fear of retaliation by the government.
"You cannot believe the so-called official figure" for deaths, the man said. "They are trying to cover up the truth."
Local officials are frequently accused of trying to conceal the extent of industrial accidents, natural disasters and other calamities, fearing both official punishment and public anger.
The total death toll in Fujian stood at 230, while neighboring Zhejiang province reported 87 deaths. Two more people were killed in the inland province of Jiangxi, Xinhua said.
Saomai tore a 12-mile path of destruction through Shacheng, a village on the outskirts of Fuding, ripping off roofs and crumbling walls, said Sina.com, a news Web site.
More than 10,000 fishing boats had taken shelter in Shacheng harbor, but thousands were sunk by the fury of Saomai's winds, Sina said.
In Nanzhen alone, 80 people were killed and hundreds more were missing, the villager said. He said scores of bodies were bloated beyond recognition.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper said the mayor of Fuding was confronted by angry villagers in Shacheng when he visited on Monday. "His car was surrounded by angry victims' families ... and was booed, pushed and pelted with stones," the newspaper said.
Saomai, the Vietnamese name for the planet Venus, was the eighth major storm to hit China during an unusually violent typhoon season.
The Chinese weather bureau said Saomai was the most powerful typhoon since its record-keeping began in 1949, though not the deadliest. In 1956, a typhoon with winds up to 145 mph killed 4,900 people in Zhejiang
Wed Aug 16, 7:03 AM ET
BEIJING - Villagers in south China on Wednesday accused the government of failing to give adequate warning before Typhoon Saomai slammed into the region last week and said the official death toll should be at least three times higher.
State media said Saomai, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in five decades, killed 319 people after rescuers found another 24 bodies Tuesday in waters off the port city of Fuding in Fujian, the province that was hardest-hit by the storm.
By Tuesday, 202 people had been confirmed dead in Fuding, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
However, residents in Fuding and its surrounding villages say the number of dead is higher than reported and accuse the government of failing to warn the public adequately. Family members of the dead say at least 1,000 people were killed in the storm, Xinhua said on its Web site.
"The government took too much for granted," one villager in Nanzhen told The Associated Press by telephone. "They only broadcast the typhoon forecast on TV, but a lot of fishermen who live on or near their boats do not watch TV at all."
"We didn't get enough warning about this typhoon. That's the main reason for such a loss," said the villager, who refused to give his name for fear of retaliation by the government.
"You cannot believe the so-called official figure" for deaths, the man said. "They are trying to cover up the truth."
Local officials are frequently accused of trying to conceal the extent of industrial accidents, natural disasters and other calamities, fearing both official punishment and public anger.
The total death toll in Fujian stood at 230, while neighboring Zhejiang province reported 87 deaths. Two more people were killed in the inland province of Jiangxi, Xinhua said.
Saomai tore a 12-mile path of destruction through Shacheng, a village on the outskirts of Fuding, ripping off roofs and crumbling walls, said Sina.com, a news Web site.
More than 10,000 fishing boats had taken shelter in Shacheng harbor, but thousands were sunk by the fury of Saomai's winds, Sina said.
In Nanzhen alone, 80 people were killed and hundreds more were missing, the villager said. He said scores of bodies were bloated beyond recognition.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper said the mayor of Fuding was confronted by angry villagers in Shacheng when he visited on Monday. "His car was surrounded by angry victims' families ... and was booed, pushed and pelted with stones," the newspaper said.
Saomai, the Vietnamese name for the planet Venus, was the eighth major storm to hit China during an unusually violent typhoon season.
The Chinese weather bureau said Saomai was the most powerful typhoon since its record-keeping began in 1949, though not the deadliest. In 1956, a typhoon with winds up to 145 mph killed 4,900 people in Zhejiang
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HurricaneBill
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P.K.
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That looks to be the case yes. 
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/08/19/289574/Saomai_death_toll_rises_to_436.htm
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/08/19/289574/Saomai_death_toll_rises_to_436.htm
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It seems very unlikely this storm will only be responsible for 500 casualties. Saomai also produced heavy inland flooding that washed out thousands of homes where recovery efforts are ongoing and hundreds of people are still missing. Also, there were over 1,000 sunken boats in Shacheng harbor alone where hundreds of bodies have yet to be recovered. Several other harbors also sustained major damaged. It also appears that government officials are just now getting around to compiling a more accurate missing persons report by interviewing families. Even with scetchy reports and limited details, I would be very surprised if the "official" death toll did not end up over 1,000 in the coming weeks.
Anger in China as typhoon death toll rises
Chinaview on August 15th, 2006
Jonathan Watts, The Guardian, August 15, 2006–Despair turned to fury in eastern China today as the survivors of the most powerful typhoon to hit the country in half a century accused local officials of understating the death toll and delaying the search for bodies.
Residents in Shacheng town, Zhejiang province, said an angry mob pulled the mayor out of his car and ripped his jacket in frustration at what they described as a lack of advance warning and a slow response in the aftermath of the disaster, which is known to have claimed more than 295 lives.
The final count could be considerably higher. Chinese troops and rescue services were still pulling bodies out of the sea yesterday, more than five days after Typhoon Saomai struck. More than 200 people are missing.
“We think the real number of dead is much higher than the official report,” said a college student in Shacheng town, who gave only his family name, Huang.
“Almost every family here has some relatives who died in the typhoon. More than 100 died in our neighbouring town of Nanzhen. And these aren’t even the worst affected areas. People here believe the death toll could reach 1,000.”
Many of the victims reportedly went out to check their boats during a lull in the storm, mistakenly thinking the typhoon had passed. They did not return home. The gusts were so powerful that they capsized a naval gunboat trying to help fishermen washed into the sea.
Mrs Liu, 52, a local woman, said: “Because Shacheng has always been regarded as a safe harbour, many fishermen anchored here, but they could not escape the storm. At the beaches of Liujiang and Long’an, there are many corpses, but it was only yesterday that the government started to help people search for their missing relatives.”
The government has more than doubled its initial estimate of casualties. According to news agency reports, 206 were killed in Fujian, 87 in Zhejiang and two in Jiangxi.
Some of those who have lost their livelihoods are desperate. Xiang Yanmu, a fish farmer in Shacheng town, valued his family’s losses at 1.7m yuan. “One of my relatives died and we are going bankrupt. I fear nothing now, not even prison,” he said. “The official death toll is a falsification. In Shacheng alone, I think more than 500 died.”
Emotions boiled over yesterday, when an official car - reportedly carrying Shacheng’s mayor, Zhang Zhaohe - drove into the town. “It was surrounded by people crying over the loss of their relatives,” said a villager. “When the mayor refused to talk to them, the crowd became very angry and threatened to overturn the car. When the mayor finally got out, the crowd tore his jacket.”
Anger in China as typhoon death toll rises
Chinaview on August 15th, 2006
Jonathan Watts, The Guardian, August 15, 2006–Despair turned to fury in eastern China today as the survivors of the most powerful typhoon to hit the country in half a century accused local officials of understating the death toll and delaying the search for bodies.
Residents in Shacheng town, Zhejiang province, said an angry mob pulled the mayor out of his car and ripped his jacket in frustration at what they described as a lack of advance warning and a slow response in the aftermath of the disaster, which is known to have claimed more than 295 lives.
The final count could be considerably higher. Chinese troops and rescue services were still pulling bodies out of the sea yesterday, more than five days after Typhoon Saomai struck. More than 200 people are missing.
“We think the real number of dead is much higher than the official report,” said a college student in Shacheng town, who gave only his family name, Huang.
“Almost every family here has some relatives who died in the typhoon. More than 100 died in our neighbouring town of Nanzhen. And these aren’t even the worst affected areas. People here believe the death toll could reach 1,000.”
Many of the victims reportedly went out to check their boats during a lull in the storm, mistakenly thinking the typhoon had passed. They did not return home. The gusts were so powerful that they capsized a naval gunboat trying to help fishermen washed into the sea.
Mrs Liu, 52, a local woman, said: “Because Shacheng has always been regarded as a safe harbour, many fishermen anchored here, but they could not escape the storm. At the beaches of Liujiang and Long’an, there are many corpses, but it was only yesterday that the government started to help people search for their missing relatives.”
The government has more than doubled its initial estimate of casualties. According to news agency reports, 206 were killed in Fujian, 87 in Zhejiang and two in Jiangxi.
Some of those who have lost their livelihoods are desperate. Xiang Yanmu, a fish farmer in Shacheng town, valued his family’s losses at 1.7m yuan. “One of my relatives died and we are going bankrupt. I fear nothing now, not even prison,” he said. “The official death toll is a falsification. In Shacheng alone, I think more than 500 died.”
Emotions boiled over yesterday, when an official car - reportedly carrying Shacheng’s mayor, Zhang Zhaohe - drove into the town. “It was surrounded by people crying over the loss of their relatives,” said a villager. “When the mayor refused to talk to them, the crowd became very angry and threatened to overturn the car. When the mayor finally got out, the crowd tore his jacket.”
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This kind of stuff should make you realize just how important coopperation is between federal, state and local governmental bodies here in the US. We take for granted just how efficiently NOAA/NWS/NHC/TPC works with local/state government and mass media to get out warnings in advance of dangerous hurricanes. Even if you do not own a TV or radio, you very likely still have an official beating down the door to your home advising you to evacuate.
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bob rulz
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Yarrah wrote:I also think the real deathtoll will be a lot higher than the official deathtoll given by the Chinese state-run press agency. It wouldn't suprise me if the Chinese goverment is covering something up.
What would they have to cover up? Sure, I don't trust the Chinese government, but they have no reason to underexaggerate the death toll...
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AussieMark
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HurricaneBill
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I heard that this area had some where like 6 million people...I knew when they evicted 1.5 million with a system that once was a cat5...In still was a cat4 heading right at them. That it would be bad.
Yes it was a cat5...7.0t with deep ring of convection and perfect outflow. Katrina,Rita like system. In at landfall it still had a closed eye unlike Katrina. I remember hurricanes like Andrew and hugo where like the few that had a whole eye at landfall...Also Charley did to. Can't count dennis because its inner core was half open.
Yes it was a cat5...7.0t with deep ring of convection and perfect outflow. Katrina,Rita like system. In at landfall it still had a closed eye unlike Katrina. I remember hurricanes like Andrew and hugo where like the few that had a whole eye at landfall...Also Charley did to. Can't count dennis because its inner core was half open.
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HurricaneBill
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Re: WPAC: Typhoon Saomai (0608)
YouTube clips of Super Typhoon Saomai:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISFXhOLIxSs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGnQ_3Md5OI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISFXhOLIxSs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGnQ_3Md5OI
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