Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Super Typhoon Vongfong: This is what it looks like from space

'I’ve seen many from here, but none like this,' astronaut said

Christopher Hooton
Sunday 12 October 2014 03:48 EDT
Comments
(Reid Wiseman/Nasa)

Your support helps us to tell the story

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Head shot of Andrew Feinberg

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A storm is brewing over the western Pacific Ocean equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, and from space it looks pretty formidable.

Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman posted a photo of it taken from the International Space Station, seeing the cyclone blanketing the Earth as far as the eye can see.

"I’ve seen many from here, but none like this," he wrote of the storm on Twitter, which is the biggest of the year.

It is in fact slowly winding down, but could still cause considerable damage when it hits Japan's southern island Okinawa over the weekend.

Zoomed in view of Super Typhoon Vongfong from the VIIRS Instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite (Picture: Nasa/NoAA)
Zoomed in view of Super Typhoon Vongfong from the VIIRS Instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite (Picture: Nasa/NoAA)

The typhoon follows in the path of Phanfone, which killed nine people earlier in the week, and is the strongest storm since Hurricane Haiyan, which devastated the Philippines last year.

"There is no question that (Vongfong) is an extremely large, extremely powerful typhoon," Japan's Meteorological Agency told Reuters.

"It's the strongest storm we've had this year, definitely, although it has lost some strength from its peak."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in