Super Typhoon Haitang is shown here bearing down on Taiwan on the morning of July 18, 2005. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite at 02:20 UTC (10:20 p.m. Taipei time).
At this time, the typhoon had weakened slightly from a Category 4 to Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Sustained winds were around 200 kilometres per hour (105 knots) with peak gusts as high as 240 km/hr (130 knots).
Typhoon Haitang has been gradually building up strength in the northwest Pacific Ocean several hundred kilometres from the Mariana Islands. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite at 04:10 UTC on July 14, 2005.
At this time, the typhoon was just beginning to acquire the spiral pattern of a tropical cyclone, with winds reaching 140 kilometres per hour (75 knots). Haitang was heading roughly westward at around 22 km/hr (12 knots) towards Luzon. However, its path is predicted to swing gradually northward to take it north of Taiwan and ultimately into the Chinese coastline near Shanghai. If the typhoon continues to strengthen according to predictions, it will have steady winds as high as 220 km/hr (120 knots) when it makes landfall.