Typhoon Nepartak (2003)

Typhoon Nepartak, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Weng, was a modest tropical cyclone that struck the central Philippines and the southern China island of Hainan in mid November 2003. Forming as a tropical depression on November 11 between Yap and Guam, the system moved westward and slowly intensified. It received the name Nepartak midday on November 12 from the Japan Meteorological Agency, becoming the 20th named storm of the 2003 Pacific typhoon season. On November 13, Nepartak struck Samar in the Philippines and bisected the island chain. Up to four million people lost power, and transportation ground to a halt; over 5,000 individuals became stranded on ships forced to stay in port during the tropical storm. It was reported that 13 individuals died in the storm in the Philippines.

After entering the open waters of the South China Sea, Nepartak continued to intensify and turned more toward the northwest. It attained its peak intensity on November 16, with maximum 10-minute sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph) and 1-minute winds of 140 km/h (87 mph). After weakening slightly, the storm found a weakness in the easterly steering currents and bore north, reintensifying slightly and directly striking southwestern Hainan. There, heavy rainfall and strong winds destroyed crops, livestock, and hundreds of homes, leaving $197 million (2003 USD) in damage. The storm rapidly deteriorated in the Gulf of Tonkin and dissipated as it neared mainland China.