Typhoon Kai-tak (2012)

Typhoon Kai-tak, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Helen, was a mild tropical cyclone that affected the Philippines, China, Vietnam and Laos in mid-August 2012. It was the seventh typhoon and the thirteenth named storm of the 2012 Pacific typhoon season. The storm killed 41 people and caused a sum of US$765 million in losses. Kai-tak can be tracked back to the broad area of disturbance embedded in a monsoonal trough that was first spotted, early on August 10. It was only at midnight, on August 16, when the JMA officially declared Kai-tak a typhoon. On the morning of August 17, the wind speed dropped to 60 knots (110 km/h; 69 mph) and was no longer a typhoon. The typhoon caused heavy damage in China's two provinces, killing four people and causing huge economic loss. Kai-Tak slammed the northern Philippines triggering flash floods and landslides and killing at least ten people, one week after deadly monsoon rains battered the country. In Vietnam, Kai-Tak has stormed across the country's north bringing high winds and floods to several areas including the capital Hanoi.