Stormy Weather

The weather bureau warned us that it will be a strong howler and boy it was.  I wasn't able to go to work today because of the floods caused by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Juan (International code: Megi).  It rained the whole night accompanied by strong winds.  In the silence of the early morning hours, I could hear the winds howling and the windows shuddered.  I looked out the window and saw that the water in the streets was already high.  I went back to bed and slept.

It continued to rain the whole morning, but it was intermittent.  It was as if the rain was going around in circles, heavy rains one moment, then nothing and then heavy rains again.  With nothing else to do at home, I stayed the whole day on the Internet.  I monitored news about the typhoon and learned that it has left the country.   The rains were just part of its tail-end but they still pack a wallop.

The rains stopped falling at midday but the winds continued to buffet the trees in the garden.  It would have been nice to take a walk if not for the flood waters that haven't gone down.  I took a short siesta after lunch and it felt good lying on a cool bed, with the pillows and the blanket equally cold.  I live in a tropical country with plenty of muggy days so it really feels nice to lie on a cool bed every once in a while.  In fact we have an expression for that, masarap mamuluktot sa kama habang umuulan (it's good to curl up in bed while it rains).

It was still heavy overcast when I got up from my siesta.  The wind has ceased a bit and it wasn't making the moaning sounds anymore.  It was like that until about four in the afternoon when the skies turned dark again.  It was scarier this time because lightning started to strike one after the other.  

After about thirty minutes, it started to rain again and our water service was cut off.  I immediately prepared our flashlights/torches and candles in case we get a power outage.  The rain fell heavily for about an hour and then it subsided.  It started to fall in torrents again after about thirty minutes and it was during this time that we lost our electricity.  

Funny thing is, I enjoyed the darkness that surrounded me.  All I could hear were the rain falling everywhere and the winds hissing as it hit the rainwater.  Instead of getting scared or stressed by it, I felt relaxed and comfortable.  The power outage didn't last long, though.  The lights went on again after about an hour.

Sadly, in spite the preparations of government for this howler, it still caused lost of human life, and a lot of damages in property and agriculture.  I read the news that at least two persons were dead and hundreds of families are staying in relocation sites.  Rice crops amounting to PhP1.5 billion were also damaged by flooding brought about by the typhoon.

As I write this, torrential rains continue to pour even as Typhoon Juan makes it way to China.   We still don't have our water supply back but there was enough water from the rains that we can use if we needed it.