Australian Severe Weather Forum

At last analysis, a 960mb typhoon with sustained winds of 75 kts (analagous to a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale) was located a few hundred miles west of Taiwan in the Western Pacific. The Japanese Meteorological Agency forecasts some strengthening, as the storm encounters warm surface waters and little wind shear. The storm is forecasted to attain sustained wind speeds of 90 knts and a drop in pressure to 925mb before possibly hitting northern parts of the Taiwan island. This would make Morakot a dangerous strong Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

James Reynolds of typhoonfury.com is flying out to Taiwan to intercept this powerful storm.

Typhoon Morakot Close to Landfall!
         



James Reynolds of typhoonfury.com is currently in Suao City along the eastern Taiwan coastline awaiting landfall of Typhoon Morakot. The storm is currently measured with sustained winds of 75 knts, equivalent of a strong Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Morakot is making a slight turn to the northwest, meaning Reynolds is in position for a direct hit! Stay tuned for details!


 


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http://www.tornadovideos.net/component/content/article/37-hurricanes/1005-typhoon-morakot-close-to-landfall
         

This typhoon had much better structure on its way across those waters a day or two ago - a very nice defined eye was visible and it was drawing another depression into itself as it tracked.  The sat image shown by James looks a little ragged with a small eye visible compared to the previous days images which had a nice open hole in the centre!.  James has been hanging out for some action and he's desperate to film the stuff he did last season for us!  Let's hope he nabs those awesome shots he greeted us with the last time he ended up on the coast!

you tube of hotel collapsing as typhoon hits Taiwan   YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Typhoon now heading towards China and an estimated 1 million people have been rushed into evacuations on Sunday 09/08/09

ABC headlines read   China rushed nearly 1 million people out of harm's away as Typhoon Morakot slammed into its coast on Sunday after triggering Taiwan's worst flooding in 50 years, leaving at least four people dead.

quite impressive also its size - 1500km's wide!  Let's hope there's no fatalities.

Heavy storms have killed about 14 people in Taiwan and 12 in Japan, while 1 million people have been evacuated in China.

Typhoon Morakot has wreaked havoc in Taiwan, causing the island's worst flooding in 50 years.

The Taiwanese military is trying to rescue thousands of people cut off by fallen bridges and raging rivers.

At least 32 people were injured as Morakot lashed the island with powerful winds and rain, disrupting railway and road traffic and bringing down bridges.

In central and southern Taiwan, heavy rain caused widespread floods and mudslides, particularly in the county of Pingtung, where thousands of people were trapped in three coastal townships.

In Kaohsiung county, a bridge collapsed, cutting off road access to a remote village of 1,300 residents.

Local television reported that 200 homes in the village, Hsiaolin, are believed to have been buried in a mudslide.

Television footage showed a hotel in Taitung, south-eastern Taiwan, collapsing into a river. Staff and guests had already been evacuated, the reports said.

On the Chinese mainland, a million people were moved to safety after the authorities saw the typhoon's impact on Taiwan.

According to Xinhua news agency, rescuers have been trying to reach a large cargo ship stranded in rough seas.

In Japan, the death toll from Typhoon Etau is also increasing after houses were destroyed by rising waters and mudslides.

Tokyo is being hit by winds of up to 108 kilometres an hour and forecasters say the heavy storms will strike the Korean Peninsula next.

stormboy