Last weekend, Super-Typhoon
Bopha was predicted to hit the island of Yap straight on. This massive storm had projected winds of up
to 150 mph, thus granting the esteemed title of “Super”-Typhoon – no, but
seriously, that is the official meteorological naming system. Yap had been devastated by a typhoon that hit
the island almost 10 years ago and so everyone was working on their own
survival plans. Many of the locals had
arranged to all gather in the houses in their village that were made of
concrete, since their own homes would be absolutely obliterated by any high
winds. They all seemed strangely calm
about this, as if they knew that no matter what happened, everything would be
alright. As for the TPK, we had our
house promptly boarded up so that inside not only was it pitch black, it also
created an oven-effect in which trapped all of the heat inside. We prepped for the worst, stockpiling clean
water, food, and flashlights. When the
weekend finally arrived, we saw nothing but bright blue skies and an ominous
dark sky just outside of the reef. You
could see the giant waves crashing onto the reef, but thankfully, we received
nothing but a few hours of rainfall and some minor winds. Bopha skirted far south of Yap and the island
only experienced the outer effects.
Another island, Palau, also seemed to be blessed when Bopha again seemed
to go further south just before hitting straight on, although, they were hit
harder than Yap. Unfortunately, the
super-typhoon picked up more speed during its journey and slammed the
Philippines causing much destruction and over 200 reported deaths. While we are very thankful that we did not
have to experience the true force of the typhoon, our thoughts and prayers go
out to all those who were not as fortunate.
“If you spend
your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.”
- Morris West
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