Right now, currently, at this very moment, we are experiencing what is technically called (and I'm NOT making this up) a Mega-Typhoon [EDIT: Link updated 10/22]. This typhoon has a radius of about 800 kilometers. To put this into terms that anyone can visualize, it's about the same as 100 Babylon 5 stations placed end to end. According to the map on the TV right now, the center is JUST missing my house, and I mean just barely.
The entire country is pretty much shut down right now. It's weird to realize that, given the small actual physical size of Japan, a SINGLE storm can close all transportation nationwide. Of course, it is a single BIG ASS storm, but still.
So far, 17 people have died and 20 more are missing. [EDIT: New totals are at least 65 dead, 21 others missing; read updated link above for more information]
The house shakes in the wind, like an earthquake. The roof is leaking in several places (these places are almost all located directly above where I was hanging my laundry, which is an amazing coincidence if you ask me; good thing I have a clothes dryer...no wait, NO ONE has a dryer in ALL OF JAPAN!). Not to sound like a whiner, but I hope work is canceled tomorrow, because I very literally have nothing dry to wear.
I'm trying to figure out how to protect my books. And computers. Sigh. Too many of both.
There are now two different locations in my house where I can look at where a wall should be, and see light from outside. That's probably not a good sign.
Three times now, a vehicle has driven by with a bell or a siren or something. Apparently, that is the signal to evacuate to the shelter. No one told me. It hasn't passed by in a while (perhaps because the wind has gotten much worse, and it's not safe for them). In any event, I'm not worried, mostly because I don't know where the shelter is anyway. Haha! Just kidding!
Right now, there are no lights on in any other house on my street. My street, by the way, was mentioned specifically on the news. Unfortunately, the news is in Japanese, so I don't know where everyone has gone.
For trivia buffs, the Japanese name their typhoons like we name our hurricanes. This typhoon is named the Japanese equivalent of "lizard". Did anyone else think of Godzilla?
On the positive side, I just deciphered some of the kanji on the side of the lemonade I'm drinking. It says: Alcohol, 5%. So, at least there's that. :D
RIP Lovely wife
3 months ago
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And despite your lack of walls or dry clothes, you still have a sense of humour, which is always good to have when facing a Mega-Typhoon.
ReplyDeleteI like how, in the face of a crisis, you took the time to site down and write a blog entry. I probably would have done the same.
Hang in there. -)
I meant sit down, not site down. Bollocks.
ReplyDeleteWell, what else was I going to do? I couldn't sleep, the TV was out, I couldn't concentrate on reading. The storm was so distracting that basically the only thing I could do was talk about it, but no one was around so I had to blog about it. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm posting this from work (which OF COURSE wasn't canceled), wearing yesterday's shirt, the only dry one in the house.