PAGASA monitored a low-pressure area east of Mindanao early on June 16. Two days later, it was named Tropical Depression "Frank". Then the next day PAGASA upgraded it to a tropical storm. A bit later the JMA classified this as a Tropical Storm and gave it the name Fengshen. On the 19th of June Fengshen/Frank was upgraded to Typhoon Status. The name "Fengshen" was submitted by the People's Republic of China and is the Mandarin Chinese name for the God of Wind, Fengshen (Chinese: 风神,風神). Fengshen has been the sixth typhoon to reach the Philippines in 2008.
On June 20, Fengshen made landfall in Samar, in the central Philippines, traveling northwest. At least 155 people have been killed by the typhoon as it drops torrential rain causing flooding and mudslides. In Iloilo province, 59 are reported killed and 40 missing. In Iloilo City, 30 thousand people were forced onto rooftops when a nearby reservoir burst. In the Bicol Region, more than 200 thousand people sought temporary shelter from the typhoon.
A ferry, the Princess of the Stars, was stranded near Sibuyan Island, and the Philippine Coast Guard was unable to make a rescue attempt because of high seas. A rescue ship reached the MV Princess of Stars, more than 24 hours after it lost radio contact at 12:30 p.m. EDT (04:30 GMT) on Saturday. about 700 people boarded the ship in Manila; it is unlikely there are any survivors, and, 24hrs later only a few bodies have drifted ashore. Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Senior Grade Arman Balilo, however, lamented: "They haven't seen anyone. They're scouring the area. They're studying the direction of the waves to determine where survivors may have drifted." Xinhua reported that the four survivors witnessed "that the captain of the ship ordered the abandoning of the ship at noon Saturday, but many passengers did not even wear life vests when the ship capsized." Four survivors, Jesus Gica, Oliver Amorin, Jessie Buot, and Renato Lanorio, told GMA news that "the ship did not malfunction, but only slowed down its speed as it encountered big waves off the coast of Romblon." Gica saw many people jump, but "the waves were so big and the rains so strong that few of them could have possibly survived; the crew were so busy saving themselves that they did not care to help the passengers to wear safety vests, and that some of the passengers passed out while children and the elderly failed to wear life vests because they could no longer move when the ship was turning upside down." San Fernando Mayor Nanette Tansingco confirmed that four others aboard died and hundreds of passengers were still missing. Dozens of people trooped to the offices of owner Sulpicio Lines, in Cebu and Manila North Harbor in Manila. The victims' families accused Sulpicio and the Philippine Coast Guard of allowing the ship to set sail despite the bad weather. They further blamed Sulpicio for not personally informing them about the tragedy, the details of the accident, and the condition of the ship plus its passengers. Sulpicio's counsel Manuel Espitan, however stated that "the ship never received advice from Coast Guard, while Metro Manila was still under public storm signal No. 1 when the ship left the port." BBC quoted Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as saying: "Why did you allow it to sail and why was there no ample warning? I want answers."
By June 22, Fengshen is anticipated to hit central Luzon. The typhoon is expected to reach eastern Taiwan between June 23 and 24, and is currently 1,300 kilometres from the country.