Crazy Satellite Maps: Super Typhoon Bopha Kills 600
UPDATE TUESDAY 12/11/12: Our new news story states that 620 have been killed, nearly 1,500 injured, with over 800 still missing. This makes Bopha more than twice as deadly as Hurricane Sandy, the article says. The article also mentions that the storm was rare for December (I had pointed out below that it was unusually far south). The following map shows all Category 5 Typhoons in the West Pacific this month in history -- there were only 7, with only 3 affecting the Philippines, and none were anywhere near where Bopha made landfall.
UPDATE SUNDAY 12/9/12: Bopha has dissipated on its way to make landfall again in the Northern Philippines. The Australian paper says:
Super Typhoon Bopha killed over 500 people this week after it struck the southern Phillipines after achieving Category 5 Status, and it may be reversing course to hit the nation again, according to the Capital Weather Gang.
Bopha took an extremely unusual course across southern Mindanao Island; in the period of record (since 1950) only one major typhoon (hurricane) took a similar path: Kate in 1970, which caused $50 million damage and killed 600-900 people: Typhoon Bopha was well documented by NASA's satellites (and even the International Space Station), giving an array of important research opportunities which will hopefully help predict the track better in the future. Here is a selection of imagery from the storm; click on the image for the source, which gives more information and larger images.
