Typhoon Morakot on NASA’s MODIS satellite
On August 7, 2009 Typhoon Morakot made landfall on Taiwan as an 80 kt (140 km/hr) typhoon. Although a minimal wind storm, Morakot brought torrential rains to the Philippines, Taiwan, mainland China, Korea, and Japan. As it slowed to a crawl over Taiwan its peak rainfall value was 120 inches (3060 mm) recorded at Alishan. It left nearly 800 people dead in its wake and $6.2 billion in damage, making it the deadliest typhoon in Taiwanese history.
Prior to its landfall, the DOTSTAR program flew a synoptic flow mission around the storm in an effort to improve computer track forecasts.