Typhoon Chanchu , known Know in the Philippines as Typhoon Caloy , was the most intense typhoon in the South China Sea in the month of May according to the Hong Kong Observatory ( HKO ) .

The first named storm of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season , Chanchu formed Coming_to_be on May 8 in the vicinity of the Federated States of Micronesia and progressed Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale westward .

On May 13 , Chanchu entered Arriving the South China Sea and became Becoming a typhoon , according to the Japan Meteorological Agency ( JMA ) .

Chanchu weakened Cause_change_of_strength as it curved Motion_directional to the northeast , making landfall Self_motion near Shantou , Guangdong on May 17 as a severe tropical storm .

The government of China considered Chanchu the earliest typhoon to make landfall Self_motion in the province .

Early in its duration , Chanchu moved Motion through the Philippines , causing Causation power outages and landslides in several islands .

While in the South China Sea , Chanchu caught Hold many Vietnamese fisherman off guard , causing Causation 17 ships to sink Removing and damaging Damaging several others .

In southern China , flooding and strong winds from Chanchu wrecked Catastrophe about 14,000 houses and damaged Damaging over of crop fields .