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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 10/17/2010 : 04:44:35
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...And it's not Rush Limbaugh. It's a typhoon.
Typhoons are the tropical cyclonic storms of east Asia, just as those of America are called hurricanes, and those of the Indian Ocean are called cyclones. The term "typhoon" comes from the Chinese words, tai fun, meaning "great wind."
The Japanese have referred to a typhoon as a "divine wind," or kamikaze. A typhoon demolished a Mongol invasion fleet sent to make Japan part of Kublai Khan's empire in 1281 CE.
Like Megi, a full 90% of typhoons originate in the warm Shallow Seas around Micronesia. (With such weapons equivalent to a fair sized nuclear arsenal, I suspect the Federated States of Micronesia are feeling pretty cocky.)
Megi reaching landfall, heading WSW. Marker
shows Baguio. [From Weather Underground]
Now "super typhoon" with the international name Megi (and called "Juan" by Philippine authorities) is zeroing in on Baguio, where I live. Already, the outer bands of Megi are whipping across this mountain city.
Right now, Megi's a Category 4 tropical cyclone, meaning its winds are between 131–155 mph (210–249 kph) as it reaches its full majesty over the warm Philippine Sea. It has a well defined eye and a solid eye wall. As it crosses mountainous Norther Luzon, it is expected to be reduced to Category 2, then to grow again over the South China Sea.
A sound car drove around less than an hour ago, warning all Tagalog speakers about something dire. English-only speakers, when push comes to shove, may not be very high on the food chain here. 
I took pictures of the changing sky at various times today, and will try to take more of these tomorrow as the Eye of Megi turns its glare upon Baguio tomorrow.
I'm safe and sound in a tight, reinforced concrete house. More later.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 10/17/2010 06:54:49
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 06:32:09 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
Good luck, Mooner!
Worst case for Baguio is if Megi is approaching from the Northeast. Is it?
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It seems to be approaching from the East North-east. We'll see by local Monday PM. The main danger here in the mountains from typhoons is rainfall, and the flooding and mudslides that causes. If I correctly understood the comments of a PAGASA forecaster on TV a couple hours ago (he was speaking in Taglish), a rainfall of 20 mm an hour is predicted from Megi/Juan for a full six hours. That's a lot of water. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 10/17/2010 06:36:07 |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 09:48:24 [Permalink]
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| Wow!!! |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 11:18:57 [Permalink]
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"Rig ship for heavy weather," Mooner! Sounds like you're in for some. Best of luck with it......
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 13:42:25 [Permalink]
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A friends of mine owns a house in one of the suburbs of Manilla. A few years ago, with the massive flooding, they had about a meter of water on the ground floor.
How's the situation drainage-wise where you live, Halfmooner? |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 19:11:39 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
A friends of mine owns a house in one of the suburbs of Manilla. A few years ago, with the massive flooding, they had about a meter of water on the ground floor.
How's the situation drainage-wise where you live, Halfmooner?
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Drainage at this house, as in my previous apartment, is excellent.
The eye of Megi has yet to make landfall on the North-east coast of Luzon island. This AM the sky is a near-uniform medium gray and moderate rain showers are falling intermittently. Wind is slight, with little gusting. Visibility is generally good, except during the heaviest showers.
Originally posted by Filthy
"Rig ship for heavy weather," Mooner! |
Exactly my thoughts. Yesterday I did a walk-about looking for possible problems. All I found to correct were a couple of clothes-drying racks, which I brought inside. This house has her hatches battened down, sea anchor out, and her prow into the gale. The rest is up to the will of Jupiter Fluvius. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 19:14:12 [Permalink]
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Hadn't heard from you in awhile, Mooner. Very glad for the update. Good luck and I hope you can post again once the coast is clear!
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 10/17/2010 19:14:45 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 20:02:44 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by H. Humbert
Hadn't heard from you in awhile, Mooner. Very glad for the update. Good luck and I hope you can post again once the coast is clear! |
Thanks, H.H.! I intend to post regularly during this storm, barring electrical brownouts and/or Internet disruptions.
Even a moderate rain can and does block my cell-based connection. Last year, not only was Baguio cut off from the world for several days with the Internet severed, but all the highways to the city were blocked by slides.
This being the first tropical cyclone I've experienced first-hand, I'm extremely interested in what's happening, and love to write about it. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 20:17:05 [Permalink]
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| Best to you, HH, and all those in the path of this horrific storm. |
"We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
"So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
-Neil DeGrasse Tyson |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 21:14:45 [Permalink]
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Even as I type, Megi's eye is coming ashore in Isabela province, on northern Luzon's east coast.
Here, the rainfall's intensity is gradually increasing, At noon, it is getting incrementally darker. Banana plants in a neighbor's yard are waving their broad leaves more vigorously. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2010 : 22:01:22 [Permalink]
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Watching an animation of satellite imaging of Megi, I get the impression that the storm has just now jogged slightly southward of its previous track. My wild-ass layman's guess is that the center of the storm is now likely to pass just south of Baguio, adding the most intense winds of the typhoon's inner ferocity to its overall forward progress. This must be the effect what Dave was wondering about earlier. Again, we'll just have to wait and see what the precise course of the storm will be.
Meanwhile, occasional gusts are beginning to make a roaring sound. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2010 : 20:15:07 [Permalink]
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I've been off the grid since 2 PM Philippine Time on Monday, due to a power outage. Though the full fury of Megi/Juan's center hadn't yet hit Baguio, I suspect it had already hit high tension lines coming from the hydroelectric dams to the east of here.
Megi has been a remarkable demonstration of nature's power. Every time I heard an increased roar of wind and torrential rain and supposed the heart of the storm was upon us, I was wrong. Both rain and wind kept getting worse.
The restaurant where Bim works closed early on Monday evening. Though they had their own power, they had few customers. Tree limbs were flying and trees themselves were falling in Rizal Park, across the street from the downtown restaurant. My cell phone already almost out of power, Bim texted me, asking for rescue. There were no taxis coming by the restaurant. On the other hand, empty taxis were available after dropping off commuters in the residential areas like Woods Gate, my present neighborhood.
So, staggering along the streets in the midst of a typhoon's fury (okay, it's true that staggering is my preferred mode of locomotion -- preferred to my other mode, falling), I made my way to Kennon Road and almost at once caught a taxi. The taxi creating a bow wave as it plowed along flooded and debris-strewn roads and streets, I was soon able to get Bim and bring her home.
Early Tuesday evening, there was a loud "bang" and the power came on at the same instant. Five minutes later, it was off again. An hour or two later, I saw an actinic, lightning-like blue-white flash in the sky, but no thunder. The power came on, went off, then flashed on and off several times in quick succession. I suspect the BENECO (BENguet Electric Cooperative) repair crews had failed to inspect their lines properly before restoring power. The initial explosion was, I think, a transformer exploding, and the later flash was from a downed power line arcing. What a bunch of amateurs! After these false starts, I told Bim that I suspected the crews would go home and try again in the morning.
BINGO. Power finally came on, and stayed on, here at 8 AM today (Wednesday). It had come back on in most of Baguio about twelve hours earlier.
Looking north-east from my terrace, 10:30 AM on Tuesday.
Much later that dark Monday night, I awoke to notice the wind had suddenly ceased, though rain continued to pummel Baguio. This relative calm lasted about an hour or so. In the morning, wind directions had reversed. Having no news, I assumed the center of the storm had passed directly over Baguio. Looking at the storm's track today, I think I was right.
The storm continues to pelt Baguio with gusts of high winds and heavy showers even now. After reaching the South China Sea, Megi slowed and turned sharply northward, coasting along Luzon's western shore.
In all, news reports state that eleven people have thus far been killed by Megi/Juan. One of those was killed in Baguio by a falling tree.
I told Bim last night that though I had wanted to witness a typhoon, I had finally decided I would have preferred my first to be a "beginner's typhoon."
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 10/19/2010 21:12:01 |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2010 : 21:29:23 [Permalink]
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Great to hear from you, Mooner, you old salty dog. Sounds like you weathered a nasty one. Glad to hear everyone is safe. Hope things get back to normal soon.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2010 : 21:43:59 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by H. Humbert
Great to hear from you, Mooner, you old salty dog. Sounds like you weathered a nasty one. Glad to hear everyone is safe. Hope things get back to normal soon. |
Thanks! There's been no damage at all to this house. Everything will be "back to normal" again as soon as I get a days-delayed hot shower. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2010 : 06:05:57 [Permalink]
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Again regrown to a Category 4 super-typhoon, Megi has now stalled almost motionless in the South China Sea, its center west of northern Luzon. Storm bands still reach out to Baguio and much farther. On-and-off heavy showers continue to pelt Baguio. We are getting 30 to 60 kph winds, plus some greater gusts.
If this continues, we will have deadly landslides, especially on some of Baguio's and La Trinidad's steepest and most crowded hillsides, and further flooding in the lowlands on the west coast. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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A "Great Wind" is coming to Baguio...
