Photo Details

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Evan on 16 December 2012 and captured this true-color image of the intense storm over the island nation of Fiji. In this image, the storm contains a large, cloud-filled eye, which was estimated at about 17 km (11 mi) across. Heavy rain bands wrap in an apostrophe shape around the center, and reach over the two main islands of Fiji, Viti Levu (south) and Vanua Levu (north). Tropical Cyclone Evan was one of the strongest cyclones to hit Fiji and Samoa in recent memory. In the ten days between first formation on 9 December and dissipation on 19 December, the storm battered Fiji, Western Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna. The estimated cost of the storm was $161 million US dollars, and 14 lives were reported lost. Photo courtesy of NASA.