by Kristopher Inting
As I blog this, Typhoon Rammasun (or the local designation of Glenda), has just finished battering it’s way through the Metro Manila area. And I mean it when I say “battering”. I woke up this morning to shaking windows and the eerie howling of wind, and it only got worse as the morning progressed. Upon reflection, I thought that this was how the 3 Little Pigs in that Grimm Fairy Tale felt like. Reasonably sure that my brick and mortar house won’t be blown down, yet huddled inside, scared to face the monster howling just beyond the walls.
Rammasun / Glenda over the Philippines. Photo courtesy of NOAA.gov
A US News site has labelled this storm to be the: “Strongest to Ever Hit Manila, Philippines”. I feel that this is a bit exaggerated, but it is certainly the strongest in terms of wind to hit this area in recent memory. The local weather bureau, PAGASA, said that prior to hitting Manila, the storm intensified to a category 3, with maximum sustained winds of over 140kph and gustiness of over 170kph.
So what does this mean then? It meant that one of our members, who lives in the 33rd floor of her condo, was complaining of being seasick due to the movement of the building in that wind. It meant that as of 6:30am this morning, virtually all of Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces were left without power. It meant that the streets were being flooded as a combination of one month worth of rain and a 3 meter storm surge served to overwhelm the city’s inefficient drainage system.
In spite of all the challenges however, I am glad to report that so far I have yet to hear of any of our members being adversely affected by the storm. Sure some of us got seasick, had to deal with flooding and/or leaks, got trapped in our office buildings as the night shift didn’t end early enough to escape the storm…but those are all minor things. So far at least, nobody has been hurt or has had a catastrophic loss of property. And for that I am grateful.
Rammasun’s next stop is supposed to be Southern China and/or Northern Vietnam. While crossing the landmass of Luzon caused it to weaken, crossing the sea is supposed to make it regain it’s strength once again. So to our Kendo compatriots in those regions, please check the news of this approaching storm and prepare. Good luck to us all!