formed before making landfall in southern Vietnam and causing torrential flooding. After an unusual four-week break of inactivity, Nyatoh formed on November 29 and later strengthened to a typhoon on December 1. It later turned towards the northeast, became a super typhoon then transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. After Nyatoh, in the early week of December, a disturbance formed east of the Philippines and moved eastward, while dumping rains on parts of Visayas and Mindanao. After that, it merged with another invest (designated 96W by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center) and headed towards the west-northwest. It later strengthened to a tropical depression by December 12, with the JTWC later designating it as 28W. 9 hours later, 28W intensified to Tropical Storm Rai, meaning Yapese stone money. Rai continued intensifying as it headed west and passed south of Ngulu State, and intensified into a severe tropical storm by 14 December. It got battered by wind shear as it neared the small island country of Palau, and by evening, entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and was given the local name of Odette. Four hours later, Rai (Odette) began showing an eye feature first seen in microwave imaging, with Rai later becoming a Category 1-equivalent typhoon. Steady intensification ensued, and Rai later reached Category 2-equivalent status. By the evening of December 15, Typhoon Rai underwent unexpected rapid intensification, doubling its wind speeds from a 120 km/h (75 mph) to 260 km/h (160 mph)—Category 5-equivalent winds—by December 16, effectively making it a super typhoon. Rai then began an eyewall replacement cycle shortly after reaching its first peak intensity, weakening below Category 5-equivalent status. It made landfall in General Luna, Surigao del Norte as a 155 mph Category 4-equivalent storm. It made 8 more landfalls, weakening to a Category 2-equivalent typhoon by the time it entered the Sulu Sea. Rai then began to re-intensify, making its 10th landfall in Roxas, Palawan. After this, Rai continued re-intensification, becoming a Category 5-equivalent typhoon once again in the South China Sea, the first in the month of December and the third to do so after Typhoon Pamela (1954) and Typhoon Rammasun. After this, Rai began weakening, eventually dissipating west of the Batanes in December 21. A tropical depression, designated 29W by JTWC, formed in December 14 and affected Malaysia with widespread flooding, and struck around the same time as Rai was pounding through the Visayas. 29W dissipated