Tuesday Typhoon!

Today we receive our first typhoon of the season!

As I write this, there's just a little light rain outside. Windows and doors are open, electricity is on; all is well. Last night we read that this typhoon was due to make landfall an hour ago or so. (Monday evening, US time.)

Typhoon Noru! You might have heard about it on your evening world news. (Then again, maybe not. I know other big storms are cropping up that might be closer to you.) If it didn't lose strength crossing the East Sea, this was due to be the biggest storm to hit Vietnam EVER!

I guess that's why I'm using all the exclamation points. It's big news! 

Last night's report said it would make landfall in either our town - Hoi An - or another city in our same province, at around 7am today. In that report, wind speeds were expected to be 165-185kph. That sounds really high! I try to be as metric as I can, since I live in the metric world, but kph... hmm. A quick search told me 165 was about 100mph.

Okay, that's better. In my time living in Delaware, I've seen hurricanes of up to 120+mph. At least now I had a frame of reference.

That was last night.

This morning, the latest is that Noru hung about catching her breath in between the Philippines and here. She is now due to strike our coast later this evening, at 183kph (113mph). I'm happy with that, because again, been there, done that... BUT "been there, done that" in a country where buildings are built with hurricane safety measures. Where houses are slightly more spaced out. Where there is infrastructure to prevent catastrophic flooding. So now I'm just curious what this will look like here.

I do believe the houses around us are strong - brick and poured concrete - and I know the city has been improving the flood drainage in the past few years. But it's the human error that causes trouble, isn't it? The new guy across the street from us just embellished his house with a lovely balcony, and framed it in potted and hanging plants. Yesterday, while the rest of us were bringing in outside furniture and tying back tall plants, he didn't. I'm anxiously watching for the moment he takes his 12 potted plants and 9 hanging ones inside!

I'm waiting for one of those potted plants to go flying.

 

The market was lively yesterday, and everyone seemed very happy. Vendors were happy to be selling as much as possible before having to close for two or three days. Customers were happy because they were getting stocked up. Kids were happy because a typhoon means no school.

We're good. We're well-stocked. I cooked a Vietnamese chicken and rice dish last night so we have a bunch of leftovers in case the power goes out. Our stove is propane, so even without electricity we can still fry an egg or boil noodles. Our garden umbrella is down. Plants are tied back. The hammock and its frame are folded up and stored inside. I know the rules. Been there, done that.

Love our landlord for tying back the plants!

Since I started writing this, the rain has picked up but the wind is still minimal. Motorbikes are still passing on the street. Rain or not, this is still the calm before the storm.

So now, we wait...