December 20, 2021 - Super Typhoon Rai

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Tropical Storm Rai
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Super Typhoon Rai crossed the southern and central Philippines on
December 16, 2021, having intensified to Category 5 strength just hours
before landfall. Locally named Odette, the storm was one of the
strongest recorded on Earth this year and the sixth to reach Category 5
on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

News and weather reports indicated that the storm first came ashore in
Siargao, a popular island for tourism, with sustained winds of about
160 mph (258 km/h) and gusts of up to 185 mph (300 km/h) before
crossing over several other islands. According to ReliefWeb, Typhoon
Rai made nine landfalls as it crossed the Philippines.

About 100,000 people evacuated their homes before Rai arrived. An
estimated 30 million people live in the central and southern islands of
the Philippines. As of December 17, the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that severe floods
submerged large areas of cities, including Cagayan de Oro, Bohol and
Kabankalan city according to initial assessments. They also state that
more 140,000 people have been severely affected, with homes and
infrastructure devastated across islands in the eastern Philippines
including Mindanao, Siargao and Nonoc. In addition, several news
sources are reporting more than 30 people have perished in the storm.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the storm on
December 17 as it was crossing Palawan Island. Sustained winds were
still whipping at 180 kilometers (110 miles) per hour.

On the evening of December 18, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
advised that Typhoon Rai was located about 288 mi (303 km) southeast of
Da Nang, Vietnam and was moving northwestward at 11.5 mph (18.5 km/h).
Maximum sustained winds were about 144 mph (232 km/h), which is a
Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Typhoon Rai is moving into marginally unfavorable conditions and is
expected to begin to weaken as it moves towards Vietnam and southern
China. The storm is expected to skirt those countries, with no
additional landfall anticipated.

Rai (Odette) is the 15th typhoon to pass through or close to the
Philippines this year. The archipelago typically sees more landfalling
storms annually than any other place on Earth.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 12/17/2021
Resolutions: 1km (653.8 KB), 500m (2 MB), 250m (5.9 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-12-20

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