Macao has suggested a list of names for Northwest Pacific Ocean and South China Sea typhoons, including Wutip (“butterfly” in Cantonese) – the name of the tropical storm responsible for no. 3 typhoon signal currently prevailing over the SAR. Other names contributed by the Macao include Sanba, Chanchu, Vangfong, Parma, Muifa, Bebinca, Vamei, Linfa, Malou and Sanvu.
Recently, the Typhoon Committee, which works under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the World Meteorological Organization WMO, selected new names for tropical cyclones.
They include Bori (the Korean word for “barley”), Saobien (Vietnamese for “starfish”), and Tianma (the flying horse of Chinese legend). The three names are to replace Doksuri, Saola and Haikui respectively, following the practice of retiring names of tropical cyclones that have caused serious casualties and economic losses.
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Locally chosen names have been submitted to the Typhoon Committee since the year 2000. They are reviewed and approved by the committee to form a rotating list of 140 names.
The no. 3 typhoon signal was raised for tropical storm Wutip at 6 am today in Macao but may be replaced by the no. 1 signal between 4 pm and 7 pm, according to the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (known by its Portuguese abbreviation SMG).
At 2 pm, Wutip was estimated to be about 680 kilometres southwest of Macao and is forecast to move northwest toward Hainan Island, according to the bureau’s current forecast. The public asked to keep abreast of the latest weather information.
