A Super Typhoon Is About to Wreak Havoc: What You Need to Know

As Super Typhoon Nepartak hits Taiwan and China, we explore how these tempests form and the risks they pose to people.

A massive "super typhoon" named Nepartak is bearing down on China and Taiwan. The giant storm is expected to make landfall on Taiwan's east coast early Friday and hit China Saturday.

To be considered a super typhoon, a storm must have sustained winds above 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour, and Nepartak "threatens all Taiwan" with strong winds and heavy rain, according to the island's Central Emergency Operation Center.

It may sound confusing, but hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are all different names for the same type of storm. The difference is simply their location.

The storms that rage across the western Pacific Ocean (in the Eastern Hemisphere) are called typhoons, while the ones spawned in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific (the

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