Gang of Three threatens Asia
Residents of coastal China have taken a pounding this summer from typhoons crashing ashore from the Pacific Ocean. At least six have struck the country, killing more than 1,000 people, destroying more than a half-million homes, 3 million hectares of crops and causing more than $9 billion in economic losses. More than a million people were evacuated in a single storm.
Now, three more of these Pacific hurricanes are on the scope. Here's an astonishing image, snapped today by NASA's Aqua Earth-Observing satellite. Three typhoons captured by a single pass of the orbiting cameras. (The "sunglint" label marks the sun's reflection off the ocean's surface.)
Fortunately for the Chinese, only two of these storms appear headed for China. Maria looks like it's going to do its worst in Japan. Here are the forecast tracks for typhoons Bopha, Maria and Saomai.
India, too, is grappling with bad weather as monsoon flooding wreaks havoc. More here.
