Sunniest and Windiest Typhoon So Far

It all began on the morning of June 13, 2010. The sun was up and shining beautifully while I and several joggers went our routine around the block. After further workout I had some more time with God at the porch, had breakfast, and took a bath. Then the sky darkened and it suddenly rained hard. Well, after all, I thought, it's the rainy season already.

Later, morning classes were suspended. My wife called up to say there's a typhoon coming, and our youngest had better be picked up from school. I said I didn't see anything on any typhoon on the Net (I work home as a web content writer). "It's due to arrive tonight!" she said. Then why suspend classes in the morning? Hmm, this might be a case for Choy’s Blog? I thought. I didn't know that rain had started pouring like crazy on other parts of the Metropolis. 

The evening news said there was a typhoon coming to Aurora Province and Metro Manila was only under signal number 1. The newbie guy from PAGASA reporting on TV seemed nervous about his first on air live appearance. His voice was crackling. Nothing to worry about, I thought. With winds from 120 to 150 kpm, a signal 1 can only be slightly felt, if any. I'm quite familiar with typhoon signals. 

So at 9pm we were in bed. I told my kids to stop wishing for class suspension tomorrow. It was only signal 1--only preschool was affected. The weather was okay, no rain, no wind, nothing. 

However, I woke up at 11 past to the frightening sounds of howling winds. This is signal number 1? I asked myself, still on bed. I heard the roofs of my neighbors banging, like someone was playing on a drum set ceaselessly and wildly. And you could hear the winds whistling sharply. We were on the second floor, and our roof seemed to be crackling as well, but I told God I had nothing to worry about. I remembered Jesus sleeping amidst a crazy lake storm, and the boat was almost capsizing. I didn't want to be rebuked with, "You of little faith!"

The wind lambasted our roofs and trees for about 2 hours. Definitely, this was not signal number 1. Again, the weathermen were wrong, as usual. But who can blame them? Jesus had said, "the wind blows wherever it wills...no one knows where it comes from or where it goes." You just have to rely on God each moment, storm or no storm. I wanted to hear something from the radio people but electricity was out. So, I just decided to sleep. It was cold--a shame if you let that natural air-conditioning go to waste by worrying and not enjoying a cool sleep. 

Finally, the typhoon was gone at about 4 am. All quiet on all sides. Eerily too quiet. Lull of the storm? I didn't think so. The quiet went on till daylight was on. The birds started to sing. Earlier, I had worried about the birds and their nests, next to worrying about people who lived under the bridge or in makeshift quarters. God and I had talked about them as I tried to get some sleep.

My family was up at 7am (we usually rose at 5am). No workout for that day. We stayed in our front porch (the brownout was still on) talking about the night before. Later, other relatives from the compound joined us. It was perfect for a Choy’s Blog entry. We laughed out loud about it all. We had our breakfast of hot Milo, bread, a little rice, sweet potato, eggs, and fish and enjoyed the cloudy view outside. It was a nice, cool, and happy morning. 

A little later, the sun appeared--while typhoon "Bashang" was still punishing parts of Central Luzon. My real estate partner and her husband later came in their van and joined us at our porch. Then we decided to look around for new townhouses for sale in the community. The lights returned in the afternoon, and I and my wife and kids enjoyed FaceBook posting together for a while. We had veggies for supper, saw the evening news (my, what devastation from a signal 1--well, it was later changed to signal 2), and then went to sleep. BTW, the typhoon hit directly at Metro Manila. And those pics above on the right are Typhoon Smartphones.

I'm just wondering---the US Naval satellite and Japanese weather radar were able to pick up the storm from their monitors and trace its path. They warned of a direct hit in Metro Manila. My sister, who works for the US government, says the embassy here has been warned early on July 13 about the direct hit. If PAGASA isn't that equipped yet, then why not coordinate with the US Navy and Japan weather station? Pic above on the right is a Snap Eurofighter Typhoon Minis Kit.

Yup. It was the strongest signal number one ever--sunny, windy, and funny. ;)

Choy’s Blog.