For all that is wrong with this island:
1) 4 Islamic Insurgencies
2) 3 Communist Insurgencies
3) Soldiers giving gasoline enemas out of glass sodapop bottles
4) Endemic Kidnapping for Ransom
5) Protection Rackets
6) Monthly earthquakes
7) Volcanoes
8) Tsunamis
9) Flooding
10) King cobras
11) Scorpions
12). Crocodiles
13) Ebola
14) Dengue
15) Malaria
16) Drug Resistant TB,
and most any other man made and natural disaster...did I include cannibalistic armies of child soldiers who lop off heads and drink the blood while using kneecaps as sacred medallions...one thing we never had to worry about was Typhoons. Mindanao sits far outside the Typhoon Belt. Joysa's island, Luzon, where Manila is located, literally gets 30 plus each year. Imagine a region of America getting 30 odd hurricanes each year? Remember, such storms come in a three to four month season, so Luzon is getting basically 8 a month. Of course only 7 of the 30 odd storms equal a Class 3 Hurricane but still, that is A LOT.
Here on Mindanao we could at least feel blessed seeing Luzon on the telly. Some readers may recall that less than a month ago Joysa and her family were sitting on their roof and getting food packages (rotten by the way) from Air Force helicopters.
So, we had one reason to feel fortunate. Lo and behold, out of nowhere we got slammed by a major typhoon, moving off now. Since 4PM Friday until now, we have been pounded, even had to go onto generator power for most of the last 20 hours. I had my mobile as always and hardly felt the effects. We live in cement homes, thick brick walls, unlike 95% of the island. The usual home is a bamboo framed, split bamboo floored and Nipa Palm leaf thatched hut, one room. I have posted photos in the past of these "nipa homes."
From 4PM Friday until Saturday morning 8AM, there were 256 known deaths here, meaning at least 1,000 actual deaths in real terms (many here don't even have birth certificates. Every coastal town has stilt homes extending out into reefs offshore, all collapsing like tents when the winds get heavy). In that same time period, 4PM Friday to 8AM Saturday, 16 hours, we had- officially- 180 fucking milimeters of rain. Now forget the winds, 180 mm of water, for you Metrically challenged Americans that is 7.86 inches of rain, coming down hard and fast.
I have spent Monsoon in Munai, in India, and never came close to that number. Anyway, I've included some photos. If you ever feel like your life has gone to shit, take a peek at these photos.
1) 4 Islamic Insurgencies
2) 3 Communist Insurgencies
3) Soldiers giving gasoline enemas out of glass sodapop bottles
4) Endemic Kidnapping for Ransom
5) Protection Rackets
6) Monthly earthquakes
7) Volcanoes
8) Tsunamis
9) Flooding
10) King cobras
11) Scorpions
12). Crocodiles
13) Ebola
14) Dengue
15) Malaria
16) Drug Resistant TB,
and most any other man made and natural disaster...did I include cannibalistic armies of child soldiers who lop off heads and drink the blood while using kneecaps as sacred medallions...one thing we never had to worry about was Typhoons. Mindanao sits far outside the Typhoon Belt. Joysa's island, Luzon, where Manila is located, literally gets 30 plus each year. Imagine a region of America getting 30 odd hurricanes each year? Remember, such storms come in a three to four month season, so Luzon is getting basically 8 a month. Of course only 7 of the 30 odd storms equal a Class 3 Hurricane but still, that is A LOT.
Here on Mindanao we could at least feel blessed seeing Luzon on the telly. Some readers may recall that less than a month ago Joysa and her family were sitting on their roof and getting food packages (rotten by the way) from Air Force helicopters.
So, we had one reason to feel fortunate. Lo and behold, out of nowhere we got slammed by a major typhoon, moving off now. Since 4PM Friday until now, we have been pounded, even had to go onto generator power for most of the last 20 hours. I had my mobile as always and hardly felt the effects. We live in cement homes, thick brick walls, unlike 95% of the island. The usual home is a bamboo framed, split bamboo floored and Nipa Palm leaf thatched hut, one room. I have posted photos in the past of these "nipa homes."
From 4PM Friday until Saturday morning 8AM, there were 256 known deaths here, meaning at least 1,000 actual deaths in real terms (many here don't even have birth certificates. Every coastal town has stilt homes extending out into reefs offshore, all collapsing like tents when the winds get heavy). In that same time period, 4PM Friday to 8AM Saturday, 16 hours, we had- officially- 180 fucking milimeters of rain. Now forget the winds, 180 mm of water, for you Metrically challenged Americans that is 7.86 inches of rain, coming down hard and fast.
I have spent Monsoon in Munai, in India, and never came close to that number. Anyway, I've included some photos. If you ever feel like your life has gone to shit, take a peek at these photos.
