Typhoon Lashes Philippine Island of Mindanao
December 5, 2012
An extremely powerful typhoon has left at least 620 people dead and some 800 more missing on the Philippine island of Mindanao. Typhoon Bopha smashed into southern Mindanao yesterday with torrential rains and winds of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour that flattened entire villages, leaving thousands homeless. The storm also decimated the region’s economic base, banana plantations. The Philippines is annually hit by as many as 20 powerful tropical storms, but Bopha blew south of the usual typhoon path.
The large Philippine island of Mindanao lies at the southeastern end of the country. World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.
Additional World Book articles:
- Philippines 2011 (a Back in Time article)
- How the Ocean Affects Climate (a special report)
- What We Know About Global Warming (a special report)
