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    It's exasperating that we get an average of 20 typhoons a year but our weather service still has outdated, primitive  equipments.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