After forming as a tropical depression over the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 km east of the Philippines on August 2nd, Typhoon Morakot built in power and moved quickly west. Over the past several days, the storm has passed over the Philippines, Taiwan and Mainland China, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage due to high winds, flooding and mudslides. Southeast China evacuated nearly 1 million people ahead of the storm, after Morakot broke many records in Taiwan, dumping a total of 2.5 meters (100 inches) of rain on the island. At least 40 people are known to have died so far, but hundreds remain missing - many from one village in Taiwan, reportedly engulfed by a mudslide during the storm.
A woman watches waves triggered by Typhoon Morakot batter the shore in Wenling, Zhejiang Province August 7, 2009.
Two villagers walk in a flooded village in Cangnan county, eastern China Sunday Aug. 9, 2009.
An aerial view of flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, Taiwan.
An aerial view of flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, Taiwan.
Flood waters brought by Typhoon Morakot submerge a house in Chiatung, Pingtung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.
Residents gather to remove a fallen tree blocking a road in Changle, in southeast China's Fujian province on August 8, 2009 as Typhoon Morakot hits mainland China.
An elderly man is carried from a helicopter to a high school in Chishan, in Taiwan's Kaohsiung county on August 10, 2009 after being airlifted from the southern village of Shiao Lin.
Water flows past a severely eroded embankment near a damaged bridge that previously linked Pingtung and Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan on August 9, 2009
A man stands on a roof as he awaits rescue in heavy flooding in Taimali, south-eastern Taiwan's Taitung county on August 8, 2009 during Typhoon Morakot.
A hotel building leans before falling in a heavily flooded river after Typhoon Morakot hit Taitung county, Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009. The six-story hotel collapsed and plunged into the river Sunday morning after floodwaters eroded its base - all 300 people in the hotel had been evacuated and uninjured, officials said.
Paramilitary policemen stand on a pile of sandbags at a section of Yangjia Stream of Xiapu county in Ningde, Fujian province August 10, 2009.
A flooded area of Cangnan county of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China after Typhoon Morakot passed by, on August 10, 2009.
A flooded area of Cangnan county of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China after Typhoon Morakot passed by, on August 10, 2009.
A resident pulls a box of groceries across a flooded street after Typhoon Morakot hit parts of Zhejiang province in China on August 10, 2009.
A resident pulls a makeshift raft to transport two girls across a flooded street after Typhoon Morakot struck Cangnan county, in China's Zhejiang province, August 10, 2009.
A woman, taking shelter from Typhoon Morakot, rests in a temporary evacuation centre in Chiatung, in southern Taiwan's Pingtung county on August 9, 2009.
Rescuers are seen before a Taoist temple inundated in floodwaters brought by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.
A girl is carried out from mudslide caused by Typhoon Morakot in Chiashien, Kaohsiung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 10, 2009.
A massive landslide is seen across a mountain road in Pingtung county, southern Taiwan, Monday, Aug. 10, 2009.
A storm-damaged bridge in Chiashien, southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung county, seen on August 10, 2009.
Rescuers try to reach a man who is stranded by floods as Typhoon Morakot approaches in Shanghai, China on August 9, 2009.
A Philippine Coastguard rescuer helps a colleague while crossing a flooded area with strong current in Botolan town in northern Philippines August 7, 2009. The town of Botolan was submerged in floodwaters on Friday after a dike collapsed at the height of Typhoon Morakot.
Evacuees sit on top of a military vehicle as rescuers search the flooded area for people after rains brought by Typhoon Morakot inundated the area in Chiatung, Pingtung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.
Residents make their way across a flooded street on a makeshift raft after Typhoon Morakot hit Cangnan county of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China on August 10, 2009.
A distraught woman waits for word of her missing father from Shiao Lin village, which was covered in a landslide from Typhoon Morakot in Kaohsiung county, southern Taiwan, at a rescue landing zone on Monday, Aug. 10, 2009.
People row a dragon boat to commute through a flooded area in Cangnan county, in east China's Zhejiang province, Monday Aug. 10, 2009.
A railroad bridge damaged by Typhoon Morakot is seen in Taitung, eastern Taiwan August 8, 2009.
Rescuers try to pull a stranded car out of floodwater in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China on August 9, 2009.
Driftwood and debris fills Fugang Harbor after Typhoon Morakot hit Taitung county, eastern Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009.
A man carries a baby as a family is rescued from flooding brought by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, Pingtung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.
Paramilitary policemen pilot a motorboat through a flooded village in Cangnan county, eastern China Sunday Aug. 9, 2009.
A man trapped by floods gestures at rescuers delivering food and drinking water after Typhoon Morakot hit Pingtung county, southern Taiwan August 9, 2009.
A collapsed apartment block lies on a river bed in Taimali, in southeast Taiwan's Taitung county on August 10, 2009.
A worker sits behind a pile of sandbags as pumps empty floodwater from a workshop after Typhoon Morakot hit Fuzhou, Fujian province August 9, 2009.
Local residents try to catch fish at a flooded fish pond as Typhoon Morakot approaches in Xiapu county of Ningde, Fujian province, China on August 9, 2009.
Aman walks on sandbags used to patch a damaged dike holding back a rising river in a flooded village in Cangnan county, eastern China Sunday Aug. 9, 2009
Local residents try to catch fish at a flooded fish pond as Typhoon Morakot approaches in Xiapu county of Ningde, Fujian province, China on August 9, 2009.
Aman walks on sandbags used to patch a damaged dike holding back a rising river in a flooded village in Cangnan county, eastern China Sunday Aug. 9, 2009
