Typhoon Songda Moves Towards Taiwan: Could be 3rd Typhoon to Strike this Season

Taiwan (HDW) September 4, 2004 - Category Four Super Typhoon Songda barrels straight toward Taiwan and Eastern China in this true-color Terra MODIS image from September 2, 2004. Songda could be the third typhoon to hit Taiwan this season; Aere and Rananim caused extensive damage from which Taiwan is still recovering.

Songda fluctuated between tropical storm and depression status for two days before ramping up to Typhoon-level winds of 70 knots on August 29th. After spending a day as a low-level typhoon, Songda became a Category 4 storm with 120 knot winds by early morning on the 31st. Since then, Songda has kept its winds above 105 knots (Category 3), and shows signs of staying as strong through September 6th.