Friday, July 16, 2010

After "Basyang" [SWF]



The calm after the storm---sky-watching from my window on late Wednesday afternoon after cyclone "Basyang" (international name:  Conson) ripped across Central Luzon and hitting Metro Manila hard.   "Basyang" brought howling winds shortly around midnight of Tuesday until the early hours of Wednesday morning.  My friends and I were texting back and forth until around 2 am, and I wasn't able to sleep until  about 4 am as I listened to roofs creaking, metal sheets crashing down the street, and strong winds pounding the walls of the apartment.  The winds sounded like whistle bombs--it was  quite scary!  I was also worried that the car was crushed by an electrical post.    Fritz seemed to  sense my anxiety as he followed me around the house checking out on windows...he kept me company.  

We woke up to a quiet Wednesday morning, and to a power outage that stretched up to 27 hours.  Trees across the street were uprooted,  my neighbor's banana trees were wiped out, the cables were in disarray, and our street strewn with debris.   Power in our office building was also cut-off so I opted to stay home and  listened to the news from an old Walkman.

Grim stories were reported the whole day---20 26 38 people have been confirmed dead and there are still missing fishermen.  There were flooding in some areas, people were evacuated, thousands of commuters were stranded, flights were canceled or diverted.  "Basyang" was the 2nd typhoon this year and its ferocity was unexpected.  For the nth time, PAG-ASA, the weather service, failed to give the public the correct information.    It's exasperating that we get an average of 20 typhoons a year but our weather service still has outdated, primitive  equipments.  It's about time the government update PAG-ASA's equipments!  Seriously!


Posted for Sky Watch Friday

21 comments:

Carlos Gesmundo said...

Interesting post. I lived in Metro Manila for 2/3 of my life. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Stumbled into your post from Robert's "daily athens" blog.

Good wishes.

Al said...

I was sooo "puyat" then Luna. I can't sleep with the creaking of the mango and indian trees around us. The bamboo fence in the garden almost collapsed, we underestimated the typhoon again. Go away Basyang!

Indrani said...

Scary experience really, I can relate to that. Hope things are normal. Great shots.

nuts said...

oh yes! I think PAGASA miscalculated the storm signal. i hope that the government will give priority, even more today that we are experiencing climate change and weather is really unpredictable.

January Zelene said...

first typhoon of the year, sobrang nanalanta na. i hope PAGASA will be given enough budget to upgrade their equipment. napag-iiwanan na tayo..

Sunset

alicesg said...

It is sad what natural disaster can cause. Hope you keep safe and have a nice weekend.

MaR said...

The calm after the storm...beautiful pictures!
Alpine summer skies

Julie said...

Good heavens! You poor folk in Manilla cop this sort of weather way way to often. My heart goes out to you.

Maboe said...

Beautiful photos!

Anonymous said...

Savage beauty!..... sorry you have to suffer just because of where you live!....:(

Anonymous said...

The cyclone must have been awfull. Beautiful pictures.

Jenn Jilks said...

What an experience. Glad you are OK. Thank you for visiting My world !

Ashley Sisk said...

Gorgeous shots - we're in the midst of hurricane season here and being on the beach right now, every storm spikes curiosity.

Penelope Potty Snooper said...

How terrible to weather a storm! Hope the weather turns better over the weekend.

Photo Cache said...

gosh another strong one eh? i remembered waking up to strong winds during the rainy seasons back in pi and looking out the window to see what's going on. it's scarier to stay under the covers than to peer into the windows to really see what's going on.

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

I've never experienced a storm like that before - it sounds as if it was quite a frighning experience. Glad all is calm now Rosie in Scotland

Ebie said...

How sad for the power failure!

But your description of calm after the storm, fits well with the colors of the skies!

I hope she is gone now.

eden said...

Great photos. I read this in the news too. Glad you and your family are OK.

Unknown said...

we need efficient and quick response to these kind of calamities.

☺lani☺ said...

Scary, I was trying to shoot the thunder from my window.. but am so scared...

Guy said...

Dramatic skyes!

I'm the webmaster for a site called Everyday life around the world. The purpose with this photo site is to show pictures of everyday life from around the world. http://www.everydaylifeatw.com/
Sadly there aren't many participants from Asia yet - a part of the world we are very interested in.
There will be a new theme each week. The theme will be presented on Everyday Life ATW on Sunday and then you have the whole following week to post your picture.

This week's theme is Local Food.

We would be thrilled if you would join us and show us photos of your country and your reality

Sincerely,

Guy Jonsson,
mail: guy.jonsson@gmail.com
http://www.everydaylifeatw.com/