The powerful super Typhoon Bilis hit Taiwan with 161 mph (260 kmh) winds on August 22, 2000. At times, the winds were strong enough to shake concrete buildings. In addition to the wind, heavy rains may bring flooding and mudslides to the island. Mudslides particularly threaten areas hit by 1999's powerful earthquake. This image (above) shows Bilis as the outer arms of the storm swept over Taiwan near noon local time on August 22, 2000. The true color image was captured by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). Meanwhile, in the Atlantic ... On the other side of the globe there were two relatively small hurricanes. Hurricane Alberto sat in the center of the North Atlantic, hanging on in its third week of life. Hurricane Debby was approaching Puerto Rico with sustained winds of only 75 mph (120 kph). NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) acquired this image (below) of the Western Hemisphere, showing both Alberto and Debby, at 2:30 PM EDT August 22, 2000.
