By Michael Carlowicz, NASA Earth Observatory
December 17, 2021
This natural-color image of Typhoon Rai was obtained in the early afternoon on December 16, 2021, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite. Around the time of this image, the storm had actually sustained winds of 240 kilometers (150 miles) per hour, a category 4 very tropical cyclone.
The storm is the 15th tropical cyclone to travel through or near the Philippines this year. The island chain usually sees more landfalling storms each year than any other put on Earth.
Forecasters from the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecasted that the storm would head toward Vietnam and southern China in the coming days.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing VIIRS information from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership.
News and weather reports suggested that the storm initially came ashore in Siargao, a popular island for tourist, with sustained winds around 195 kilometers (120 miles) per hour, before crossing over several other islands. An approximated 100,000 people evacuated their homes prior to Rai showed up. A projected 30 million people live in the central and southern islands of the Philippines.
December 16, 2021
December 17, 2021
Locally called Odette, the storm is one of the strongest tape-recorded in the world this year and the 6th to reach classification 5.
Typhoon Rai crossed into the southern Philippines on December 16, 2021, having actually intensified to classification 5 strength just hours before landfall. In your area called Odette, the storm is among the greatest recorded on Earth this year and the 6th to reach classification 5.
News and weather condition reports suggested that the storm first came ashore in Siargao, a popular island for tourist, with sustained winds around 195 kilometers (120 miles) per hour, before crossing over several other islands. An estimated 100,000 people evacuated their houses prior to Rai showed up. An estimated 30 million individuals live in the main and southern islands of the Philippines.