Philippines
Typhoon Bopha hit the Philippine island of Mindanao bringing heavy rains and gusts of winds over 200 km/h (130mph). A typhoon is a hurricane that occurs in the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the International Date Line. Hurricanes occur in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the International Dateline; cyclones in the Southwest Indian Ocean. A cyclone is an atmospheric closed circulation that rotates counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Read More
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (a little more than twice the size of Washington, DC) borders the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel. It encompasses 360 sq km; 40 km are coastline. The climate of the Gaza Strip is generally temperate with mild winters and dry and warm to hot summers. The terrain is flat to rolling sand- and dune-covered coastal plains. It is a strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes that has experienced a turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history. Read More