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Floods in Southern China
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Floods in Southern China |
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Seasonal rains during June 2005 have resulted in widespread flooding across southern and eastern China. The floods and associated mudslides have left hundreds dead and forced thousands from their homes, with the most severe damage in Guangxi and Guangdong in southern China. The rains are a normal part of life in southern China, where May and June are "Meiyu" season. "Meiyu" literally means ?plum rain,? which refers to the widespread rains that can occur at the time when plums ripen. This image shows rainfall totals over southeastern China between June 13 and June 28, 2005. A broad band of red, representing the highest totals, stretches across southern China, including the provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong, and the northern part of the South China Sea and into Taiwan. This area received between 80 (green areas) and 400 (dark red areas) millimeters (about 4-16 inches) of rain during this two-week period. The data used to create this image are from NASA?s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite. TRMM was launched in November 1997 to provide better estimates of rainfall over the global Tropics. The satellite can cover vast areas of the Tropics where rainfall is poorly measured, such as over oceans and land areas where radar coverage is poor or lacking. Since that time, TRMM has been providing unprecedented estimates of rainfall over the Tropics using its array of passive and active sensors. This image was produced by the TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, which provides rainfall estimates over the global Tropics. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Super Typhoon Haitang
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Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Taiwan suffered a direct hit from Typhoon Haitang on the afternoon of Monday July 18, 2005 local time with sustained winds reported at 184 kph (114 mph) by the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau. The storm cut directly across the north central part of the island and after crossing the Taiwan Straits is expected to make landfall again on the southeast coast of China. This image shows the storm at 03:59 UTC on the 17th of July as it approaches Taiwan. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). The PR shows a small, well-defined eye surrounded by tight concentric bands of moderate (green) to heavy (red) rain, especially to the northeast of the center. These features are indicative of a mature intense cyclone. At the time of this image, Haitang's sustained winds were estimated to be 140 knots (161 mph) by Joint Typhoon Warning Center, making it a Category 5 super typhoon. Launched in 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Longwang
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Typhoon Longwang |
| Description |
Typhoon Longwang, which means "dragon king" in Mandarin, became the third super typhoon this year to hit Taiwan and continue on to make landfall in China. The other two super typhoons of 2005 were Haitang and Talim. After traversing the Philippine Sea, Longwang plowed over Taiwan on October 2, 2005, where winds were recorded up to 230 kilometers per hour (143 mph). The storm left one person missing and one dead in Taiwan. Longwang then continued moving across the Taiwan straight and struck Fujian Province in southeast China. Three people were reported killed, and 59 police cadets were missing after flood waters swept away their buildings. This image of Longwang was captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite on October 1, 2005, at 20:27 UTC, just as the center of the storm was making landfall on the eastern coast of Taiwan. The western half of the eyewall is already over the coast while the center sits just offshore. A sizeable area of very intense rain (dark red area) is present in the eastern half of the eyewall. At the time, Longwang was still a Category 4 typhoon with sustained winds of 115 knots (132 mph). After crossing Taiwan, the storm would later weaken to a Category 1 typhoon before hitting mainland China. The TRMM satellite has been measuring rainfall over the tropics since its launch in 1997. The TRMM-based, near-real time MPA at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides estimates of rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and captioned by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Talim
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Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Taiwan took a direct hit from powerful Typhoon Talim on August 31, 2005. At the time, the storm was a Category 3 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The storm cut directly across the island leaving at least 6 people dead. Talim then continued on to mainland China where there were 14 confirmed fatalities and another 15 persons missing. Nine of the fatalities and all the missing persons are a direct result of mudslides. These images of Talim were captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite as the storm bore down first on Taiwan and then on China. The first image was taken at 12:24 UTC (8:24 p.m. Tapei time) on August 30, 2005, as the storm approached Taiwan. TRMM reveals that Talim had a large inner eye surrounded by a complete inner eyewall, which can be identified by the inner ring of moderate- intensity rain (the inner green ring) as well as an outer concentric eyewall (larger green ring). This double-eyewall structure can occur in mature, intense tropical cyclones. The second image was taken on August 31, just before the storm made landfall over Taiwan when Talim was a Category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 210 km/hr (130 mph). The storm still displayed a double eyewall, with areas of very heavy rain, shown in red, in the outer ring. The third image shows Talim just after the center made landfall on the coast of mainland China. The image was taken at 1:38 p.m. Taipei time (05:38 UTC) on September 1, 2005. The inner eyewall is completely gone in this image with the storm having been disrupted by its passage over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan. At the time of this image, Talim was a Category 1 typhoon with sustained winds of 130 km/hr (80 mph). Talim quickly lost strength after coming ashore, though it continued to cause flooding and mudslides. Launched in 1997, the TRMM satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the ocean. The images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Taiwan took a direct hit from powerful Typhoon Talim on August 31, 2005. At the time, the storm was a Category 3 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The storm cut directly across the island leaving at least 6 people dead. Talim then continued on to mainland China where there were 14 confirmed fatalities and another 15 persons missing. Nine of the fatalities and all the missing persons are a direct result of mudslides. These images of Talim were captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite as the storm bore down first on Taiwan and then on China. The first image was taken at 12:24 UTC (8:24 p.m. Tapei time) on August 30, 2005, as the storm approached Taiwan. TRMM reveals that Talim had a large inner eye surrounded by a complete inner eyewall, which can be identified by the inner ring of moderate- intensity rain (the inner green ring) as well as an outer concentric eyewall (larger green ring). This double-eyewall structure can occur in mature, intense tropical cyclones. The second image was taken on August 31, just before the storm made landfall over Taiwan when Talim was a Category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 210 km/hr (130 mph). The storm still displayed a double eyewall, with areas of very heavy rain, shown in red, in the outer ring. The third image shows Talim just after the center made landfall on the coast of mainland China. The image was taken at 1:38 p.m. Taipei time (05:38 UTC) on September 1, 2005. The inner eyewall is completely gone in this image with the storm having been disrupted by its passage over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan. At the time of this image, Talim was a Category 1 typhoon with sustained winds of 130 km/hr (80 mph). Talim quickly lost strength after coming ashore, though it continued to cause flooding and mudslides. Launched in 1997, the TRMM satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the ocean. The images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Taiwan took a direct hit from powerful Typhoon Talim on August 31, 2005. At the time, the storm was a Category 3 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The storm cut directly across the island leaving at least 6 people dead. Talim then continued on to mainland China where there were 14 confirmed fatalities and another 15 persons missing. Nine of the fatalities and all the missing persons are a direct result of mudslides. These images of Talim were captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite as the storm bore down first on Taiwan and then on China. The first image was taken at 12:24 UTC (8:24 p.m. Tapei time) on August 30, 2005, as the storm approached Taiwan. TRMM reveals that Talim had a large inner eye surrounded by a complete inner eyewall, which can be identified by the inner ring of moderate- intensity rain (the inner green ring) as well as an outer concentric eyewall (larger green ring). This double-eyewall structure can occur in mature, intense tropical cyclones. The second image was taken on August 31, just before the storm made landfall over Taiwan when Talim was a Category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 210 km/hr (130 mph). The storm still displayed a double eyewall, with areas of very heavy rain, shown in red, in the outer ring. The third image shows Talim just after the center made landfall on the coast of mainland China. The image was taken at 1:38 p.m. Taipei time (05:38 UTC) on September 1, 2005. The inner eyewall is completely gone in this image with the storm having been disrupted by its passage over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan. At the time of this image, Talim was a Category 1 typhoon with sustained winds of 130 km/hr (80 mph). Talim quickly lost strength after coming ashore, though it continued to cause flooding and mudslides. Launched in 1997, the TRMM satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the ocean. The images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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