Nepartak was a powerful category four tropical typhoon when it hit Taiwan last week but weakened to a tropical storm as it moved into the Taiwan Strait. NASA calculated the heavy rainfall the typhoon brought to Taiwan and China before it dissipated over southeastern China.
Nepartak's winds and heavy rains caused severe problems when it moved ashore over southeastern China. Thousands of homes in China were destroyed by the storm. At least three deaths in Taiwan and six fatalities in China were attributed to Nepartak. Torrential rain caused flash flooding and mudslides in both Taiwan and China.
NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM mission (IMERG) were used to estimate the total amount of rain that Nepartak dropped over Taiwan and southeastern China. Totals were estimated during the period from July 3 through July 10, 2016 when the typhoon moved through the western Pacific. IMERG estimates indicated that the typhoon dropped over 500 mm (19.7 inches) in some areas. Even greater rainfall totals were calculated in areas of China and southern Japan that were not directly affected by typhoon Nepartak.