Four Typhoons Hit Philippines In 10 Days

 If you thought the hurricane season in the United States was bad (it was), the Philippines would like a word. 

Wreckage and flooding after one of four typhoons in
the Philippines within 10 days this month.

Earlier this month, that nation was hit by four typhoons with 10 days, probably their most active stretch of such scary weather on record.   

Typhoons, by the way, are exactly the same thing as hurricanes. That's just the name for them in the western Pacific. 

Overall, typhoon activity in the western Pacific has actually been a little quieter than average this year. But that big flurry of activity has the Philippines begging to differ.

Especially since these weren't exactly wimpy storms. 

The first one hit the northern tip of Luzon island on November 7 with top sustained winds of 150 mph. The next one hit on November 11 a little further south on Luzon with top winds of 80 mph. Just three days later, Luzon was hit again with another typhoon, this one worse with 140 mph to sustained winds.

Finally, within 24 hours after that, the final typhoon hit with 130 mph winds. 

The third in the series appeared to be the worst. Video shows incredible winds smashing through the region in near zero visibility because of the torrential rains. 

Luzon is the Philippines most populated island, which is the one that kept getting hit  The four typhoons combined have killed at least 160 people.

The fourth typhoon just piled onto damage from the previous storms. In total, at least 8,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, and 700,000 people had to flee to emergency shelters or relatives' homes. 

Farmland is so badly damaged that the country will probably have to import more rice.   

The spate of typhoons has since ended at least for now, so the Philippines are safe from further damage for awhile yet.