Typhoon Mindulle Moves Destruction from Phillipines to Taiwan

Phillipines (HDW) July 2, 2004 - As the northern Philippines island of Luzon recovers from its brush with Typhoon Mindulle, the island nation of Taiwan now bears the brunt of the storm. Mindulle was responsible for 16 fatalities and 17 missing persons in the Philippines mainly from flash floods and is now hitting the east coast of Taiwan with 75 mph winds. Mindulle formed into a tropical depression from a monsoon gyre back on the 23rd of June 2004 just west of the Northern Mariana Islands. Mindulle quickly reached tropical storm strength but only slowly intensified over the next few days before finally becoming a minimal typhoon on the 27th in the Philippine Sea. Next came a period of rapid development as Mindulle's maximum sustained winds increased from 65 knots (75 mph) to 125 knots (144 mph) within a span of just 30 hours, and it's forward speed decreased dramatically as it approached the northern Philippines. Up until this point, Mindulle had been moving mainly due west but now turned north taking it through the Babuyan and Batan islands north of the main island of Luzon. The storm increased its forward speed slowly and began to weaken as it passed through the Bashi Channel headed for Taiwan. Mindulle passed by the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan on the evening (local time) of the 30th of June before continuing up along the east coast of Taiwan.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12219