I know, it's topical because for those of you in Asia's World City, it's belting it down out there right now.The wind is knocking the trees about as if it bore a grudge. God knows how the wildlife fares, but there's nothing like a good old typhoon to remind you who's in control!
Having said that, I recall blustery days like this in the UK, damage notwithstanding. When we first moved to Hong Kong I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. A bit of wind and people were running for cover. But then I put my hands on the window of the 16th floor apartment we lived in at the time -it was bowing under the pressure. Suddenly, all those warnings about taping up windows and staying away from the glass became a reality. Stories about air-conditioning units being sucked out of their niches and of yachts being dumped up the Nathan Road were no longer the exaggerated myth of dinner conversation. Staring out of the window it was possible to see branches, rubbish and debris racing about in the mad air currents. Staying in became a necessity.
In the past typhoons have been positively deadly. In the 1870s a typhoon killed more than 2000 people in the territory. Much later in 1937 the Great Hong Kong Typhoon killed 11,000. Wind speeds for that particular beauty topped 150 mph! The innocuous-sounding Typhoon Wanda in 1962 dumped 10 inches of rainfall during a tidal surge of 5 metres. You can only imagine what damage that would do to the mostly wooden shacks on the coastline.
'Typhoon Days' are a wonderful thing for the chattering classes. Like everything in Hong Kong, typhoons are regulated (according to windspeed), so a Typhoon 8 signal generally means a day off work. It meant for us that we could indulge in a late get-up, some cake making and bloating out in front of the TV. The next day involved picking our way through the wreckage on the way to work -such fun!
Rain Storms have, for me, been a little more alarming. I think it's fair to say I've never seen so much of the wet stuff as here in the Far East. The heavens doth open and pour out such quantities of water it is difficult to conceive how it got up there in the first place.
What is also apparent is the enormous damage this gentle rain can do: whole hillsides washed away, mudslides dumped onto roads and suffocating the occupants of ground floor apartments. There are even 3 categories of rainstorm -Amber, Red and Black. Having driven in the latter, it is not something to be recommended. In fact, it's one of those occasions where fear engages the automatic propensity for uncontrollable profanity!
During rainstorms and typhoons most restaurants pack up for the night, but many bars stay open. After all, it's not like there's a problem competing for business with those all too desperate for a lil' drinky. Some alcoholics go out especially to 'take in' the typhoon atmosphere in Lan Kwai Fong and Wanchai: that's a disaster visiting a calamity!
So as Typhoon Vicente dumps all the water it has sucked up out of the South China Sea onto our roof, we settle down to a wet and blowy evening: turn on the TV and pass round the cake, please!
Comments