NASA's Aqua satellite captures images of cyclone Luban, Titli

NASA, Oct 16: The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite acquired this natural-colour image of Cyclone Luban in the early afternoon of October 11, 2018. The storm is the third to develop in the Arabian Sea in 2018.

The region is a major crossroads for ships passing from the Atlantic and Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean by way of the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz.

Across the Indian Ocean to the east, Cyclone Titli brought drenching rain and fierce wind to India. The MODIS instrument on Aqua acquired this natural-color image of the storm on October 11, 2018, shortly after landfall near Gopalpur. Wind speeds were reported to be roughly 150 kilometers (90 miles) per hour. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and nearly a half-million people lost electricity.

According to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Luban had sustained winds of 65 knots (75 miles/120 kilometers per hour) around midday on October 11. Maximum wave heights were estimated at 26 feet (8 meters). The storm was centered about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Salah, Oman, and moving westward at just 2 knots (2.3 miles per hour).