October 3, 2015 - Typhoon Dujuan (21W) over Taiwan

Typhoon Dujuan (21W) over Taiwan

At 10:45 a.m. local time (0245 UTC) on September 28, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of Super Typhoon Dujuan approaching Taiwan. The storm’s center made landfall along Taiwan’s mountainous northeast coast near the town of Nan’ao later in the day.

The storm came ashore with sustained winds of 225 km/h (140 mph) – the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. Several thousand people were evacuated in advance of the storm. Twenty-four people were injured and 33,000 homes lost power, according to the Agence France-Presse.

Taiwan is no stranger to tropical cyclones. An average of 3.5 typhoons make landfall or cause significant damage each year. Earlier this year, Typhoon Soudelor struck the same part of Taiwan, resulting in eight deaths and hundreds of injuries. In 2009, slow-moving Typhoon Morakot caused 450 deaths and billions of dollars of damage.

Dujuan began to lose strength quickly after passing over the rugged topography of Taiwan. It crossed the Taiwan Strait then made landfall in the Fujian province near the city of Putian on September 30. According to the China Meteorological Agency, wind speeds of 74 mph (119 km/h) were estimated at landfall, making it a minimal Category 1 storm at that time. Dujuan continued to weaken, but brought drenching rain to southeastern China for several days before dissipating well inland.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 9/29/2105
Resolutions: 1km (966.7 KB), 500m (3.2 MB), 250m (7.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC