June 1st – November 1st is typhoon
season in Okinawa. At this time last
year, 6 typhoons had already hit the island.
This year, there haven’t been any.
Until this past weekend. We
started hearing about the potential of Typhoon Fito hitting Okinawa last
Monday. Nothing new, there was another
typhoon forecasted to hit the island a couple weekends ago that was a false
alarm. But, when Wednesday rolled around
and the forecast continued to confirm, Typhoon Fito is heading straight for Okinawa
we started to prepare. Another seemingly
tell-tale sign that this one was for real is that small talk begins revolving
around “the typhoon.”
“I’m
heading to the grocery store, to stock up for the typhoon.”
“Better
get there early. The lines are going to
be terrible, because of the typhoon.”
“You
all ready for the typhoon?
“Yep. All stocked up on video games and food.”
“So
what if the power goes out?”
“All
hopes lost.”
“Of
course, this one would hit on the weekend.
Last 4 typhoons in a row. All over the weekends. Don’t even get to take off work.”
Daniel
left work on Friday only after closing all the blinds on the windows to
minimize damage, and, for offices and operatories on the 1st and 2nd
floors, placing a plastic bag over the computer and ensuring all electronics
were elevated from the ground. When he
arrived home, we proceeded to bike to the grocery store to buy 2 water jugs to
supplement the one that I had gotten already to put in our “typhoon readiness
kit,” something that everyone new to the
island is encouraged to create. Daniel
filled up the bathroom tub with water for washing and flushing toilets if the
electricity and water pressure went out, parked the car securely next to the
curb with the emergency brake locked, and I moved all the trash bins and
outdoor furniture indoors.
The
sky lit up in an orangey glow color as the sun set that evening. Similar to the peculiarly radiant colors that
sometimes occur before a tornado. And
we went to bed.
 |
| Orange sky and Daniel :) |
We
awoke to a rainy windy Saturday morning.
Since we do not have internet, we turned on the radio. There is one English radio channel in Okinawa
and that is the military station, AFN.
We eventually heard the information we wanted, the weather report. TCCOR-1 Caution. This means winds of 35-50 knots are occurring
and winds of 50 knots or greater are likely within hours, stay indoors. Schools close and all support centers close
and, you have to stay on the base.
So,
we spent much of the morning watching the gusty winds blow the trees and rain
around out of the window. By the
afternoon, I could no longer resist the urge.
I put my raincoat on and went outside for an adventure walk. I came back soaked and happy. My curiosity was satiated as much as it could
be without violating military guidelines too much.
Overall,
it was a great typhoon day. We did not
lose electricity, we did not need the bathtub full of water, and we were not
scared. Some of the highlights: a huge
pancake breakfast, fresh baked cookies, some home projects accomplished, lots
of storm watching while snuggling, and we starting the new book we are listening
to, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. I
even got a work-out in on my new bike trainer.
The
best part of our first typhoon experience?
Another typhoon is forecasted to hit the island on Monday!...
J
And
it did, Typhoon Danas was forecast to be much more severe than Fito with
predicted affects for this area being straight line winds of 90 knots gusting
to 110 knots (that’s 104-127 mph). The
dental clinic was closed at lunch time and all personnel were sent home to
prepare for the storm, meaning Daniel got the afternoon off! Alas, the storm
passed too far to the north of us to raise the alert to TCCOR-1 Emergency
(meaning winds of 50 knots or greater are occurring) so we didn’t get to see
the full potential of a typhoon for ourselves but we did get more quality time
together and some more workouts on the bike trainer. (We’re not really wishing the brunt of a
typhoon on Okinawa but everything here is built to withstand them so it
wouldn’t be that big a deal anyway).
 |
| TCCOR-1 Caution: quick go for a run before the gate closes! |
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