The powerful super Typhoon Bilis hit Taiwan with 161 mph (260 kmh) winds
on August 22, 2000. At times, the winds were strong enough to shake concrete
buildings. In addition to the wind, heavy rains may bring flooding and
mudslides to the island. Mudslides particularly threaten areas hit by
1999s powerful earthquake.
This image (above) shows Bilis as the outer arms of the storm swept over Taiwan
near noon local time on August 22, 2000. The true color image was captured by
the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS).
Meanwhile, in the Atlantic ...
On the other side of the globe there were two relatively small hurricanes.
Hurricane Alberto sat in the center of the North Atlantic, hanging on in its
third week of life. Hurricane Debby was approaching Puerto Rico with sustained
winds of only 75 mph (120 kph).
NOAAs Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) acquired
this image (below) of the Western Hemisphere, showing both Alberto and Debby, at 2:30 PM
EDT August 22, 2000.
Typhoon Bilis provided by the SeaWiFS Project,
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.
GOES imagery courtesy GOES Project Science Office, NASA GSFC.