Typhoon Megi killed at least 26 people in Philippines , leaves 200,000 homeless, set to make landfall on Saturday east of Hong Kong

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Re: Typhoon Megi killed at least 19 people, leaves 200,000 homeless, set to make landfall on Saturday east of Hong Kong

Re: Typhoon Megi killed at least 19 people, leaves 200,000 homeless, set to make landfall on Saturday east of Hong Kong

Rescue teams toil as Megi takes its toll

DEADLY DROP:A tour bus carrying Chinese tourists was found after plunging 100m down a ravine when it was hit by falling rocks on the Suhua Highway

Staff Writer, with agencies

Difficult terrain and intense weather conditions hampered rescue efforts yesterday as ground forces and helicopters worked to rescue about 400 travelers trapped on the coastal Suhua Highway on Thursday by massive rockslides unleashed by the torrential rains of Typhoon Megi.


32 vehicles carrying 400 people were stranded between the 113km and 115km markers on the section of Suhua Highway between Yilan County?s Suao (蘇澳) and Dongao (東澳) townships following the landslides, said Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who doubles as commander of the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC).

Twelve of the stranded vehicles were tour buses carrying 274 Chinese tourists, he said.

One of the vehicles was hit by a huge rock, local TV stations reported, but the 16 Chinese tourists inside escaped with no major injuries.

Authorities, however, confirmed that one tour bus carrying Chinese tourists was found after having tumbled 100m down a ravine at the 112.8km mark of the highway after being hit by a rockfall. The 19 Chinese nationals, a Taiwanese tour guide and a bus driver from Harula Tour Agency (創意旅行社) who were on the bus remained unaccounted for at press time.
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Jiang also confirmed that another bus belonging to a different travel agency had fallen off the cliff into the sea.
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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2010/10/23/2003486674

 

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Re: Typhoon Megi killed at least 26 people, leaves 200,000 homeless, set to make landfall on Saturday east of Hong Kong

Re: Typhoon Megi killed at least 26 people, leaves 200,000 homeless, set to make landfall on Saturday east of Hong Kong

Typhoon Megi drenches Taiwan

Last Updated: Friday, October 22, 2010 | 11:55 AM ET The Associated Press


Record rains from a powerful typhoon caused massive mud and rock slides in Taiwan that buried a Buddhist temple and trapped vehicles on a highway, where one bus carrying 19 Chinese tourists was missing Friday.
The mudslide at the temple killed three people, and overall, 27 people were missing in Taiwan as Typhoon Megi swept toward southern China, where landfall is expected late Friday or Saturday.

The storm earlier killed 26 people and damaged homes and crops in the Philippines.

Megi dumped a record 114 centimetres of rain in Taiwan's Ilan county over 48 hours. It had winds of 145 km/h and was about 440 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong on Friday evening, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

Three people were killed at the White Cloud Temple in Suao city along the eastern coast when a mudslide buried the building, Taiwanese cable TV stations reported. Rescuers were using bulldozers to try to dig out six other people, Ilan county chief Lin Tsong-hsien said.

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Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/22/typhoon-megi-taiwan-china.html#ixzz136yKf7RT​

 

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Re: Typhoon Megi killed at least 26 people in Philippines , leaves 200,000 homeless, set to make landfall on Saturday east of Hong Kong

Hurricane Season 2010: Typhoon Megi (Northwest Pacific Ocean)
10.22.10


<!--Promo date and doctitle ends-->October 22, 2010

NASA Satellites See Typhoon Megi Poised for Southeastern China Landfall

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This TRMM image on Oct. 21 at 1401 UTC (10:01 a.m. EDT) showed Megi contained powerful thunderstorms rotating around a large distinct circular eye. The heaviest rainfall (red) falling at 2 inches per hour, was located in bands to the east of Megi's eye.
Image Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce

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The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Typhoon Megi's clouds at 05:15 UTC on Oct 22. The western edge of Megi's clouds were already over southeastern China.
Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team Typhoon Megi has run into winds that are weakening the storm, but it is forecast to make landfall in southeastern China late at night (EDT) on Oct. 22 (11 a.m. local time Hong Kong, Oct. 23) as a Category One Typhoon. NASA satellites have been monitoring the storm's rainfall, changing cloud cover, and changing eye as it weakens.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite traveled directly above Megi on October 21 at 1401 UTC (10:01 a.m. EDT) when wind speeds were estimated to be about 100 knots (~115 mph). Megi caused at least 27 deaths in the Philippines and is now headed directly toward southern China when the TRMM satellite captured data on the storm's rainfall.

TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) data were used to make a precipitation analysis that was overlaid on a TRMM Infrared image at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The TRMM image showed Megi contained powerful thunderstorms rotating around a large distinct circular eye. The TRMM rainfall analysis showed that the heaviest rainfall, falling at about 2 inches per hour was located in bands of thunderstorms to the east of Megi's eye.

Because wind shear has increased today, Oct. 22, the storm continues to weaken. Satellite data indicates that convection (rapidly rising air that form the thunderstorms that power the typhoon) is weaker today than yesterday, also indicating a weakening storm. Further, the large eye has now completely filled with clouds.

On Friday, Oct. 22 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) Typhoon Megi's maximum sustained winds had decreased to 90 knots (103 mph), making Megi a Category Two typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It was located about 235 nautical miles east of Hong Kong near 22.6 North and 118.3 East. It was moving North at 7 mph (6 knots) and is expected to make landfall in southeastern China by 11 p.m. tonight (EDT), or 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23 local time in Hong Kong.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecasts a landfall late at night on Oct. 22 (Eastern Daylight Time). After landfall, Megi is expected to dissipate quickly and merge with a stationary frontal boundary.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro and Hal Pierce
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2010/h2010_Megi.html