Typhoon Morakot
via The Big Picture on 8/10/09
After forming as a tropical depression over the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 km east of the Philippines on August 2nd, Typhoon Morakot built in power and moved quickly west. Over the past several days, the storm has passed over the Philippines, Taiwan and Mainland China, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage due to high winds, flooding and mudslides. Southeast China evacuated nearly 1 million people ahead of the storm, after Morakot broke many records in Taiwan, dumping a total of 2.5 meters (100 inches) of rain on the island. At least 40 people are known to have died so far, but hundreds remain missing - many from one village in Taiwan, reportedly engulfed by a mudslide during the storm. (36 photos total)
