Wild times: Earthquakes and Typhoons

Update: We ended up with 14 inches of rain in 2 days!

It’s 3PM and we’ve already had 3 inches of rain dumpped on us today from typhoon Sinlaku.  The worst part of the storm isn’t supposed to hit for about 18 more hours so I’m sure we’ll see a lot more rain and wind before it’s over.  Right now, gusts are at 130mph and surprisingly we still have electricity, being in the city helps shield us from some of the wind.

The typhoon’s not the only drama right now.  We had a small earthquake on the south end of the island this morning, but we didn’t feel it.  That’s two earthquakes in the last three days.  What fun.

Here’s a screen shot of our the Central Weather Bureau’s website.  We are buried below that mass of swirling clouds.

Typhoon Krosa Video

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The third time is not a charm

We’ve had two typhoons already this year. The first one wasn’t much more than a rain storm, the second one brought in a little more rain and wind, but neither one was even close to the strength of Krosa. Typhoon Krosa with gusts to 145mph is causing a lot of problems in Taipei. The eye of the typhoon is just passing over Taipei right now.

I managed to get out for a short walk (Laura was NOT too happy about this) and get some photos and video of the damage it is causing. The mountains around us are expecting to get Seattle’s yearly rainfall today and tomorrow. So far we’ve been getting about an inch of rain per hour since 6am.

I noticed several shop keepers sandbagging their doorways as the water was rising quickly in the street. Riding the scooter was impossible so most people gave up and were walking them down the street or parking them in a sheltered area.

When I first got to this spot the scooter was sitting in a wet street with some water running in the gutter. By the time I left 30 minutes later the street looked like this. The street and sidewalk were completely flooded and cars were having a tough time getting by.

One of many tree that were down on our street.

This just in…

About 5 minutes ago the Taipei government canceled schools and businesses for the upcoming typhoon, Wipha.  It doesn’t look as powerful as the one a couple weeks ago, but apparently the government thinks otherwise.  I sure am glad we have all those emergency rations from Emma. 

We’re just fine

Last night around 1:50AM we woke up to a nice little earthquake.  It felt much different than the Seattle earthquakes we’re used to.  This one felt like a huge amount of horizontal movement.  The blinds were rattling, the hanging lights were swinging and the kitchen utensils were dangling.  When we got to school this morning it was the main topic of conversation for students and faculty.  There were a few people that had items fall from shelves, but that was about it.  Our cats were quite disturbed by it though.  They instantly woke up and were very uneasy for a while. 

The earthquake measured a 6.6 at the epicenter, but was much less here in Taipei.  Nevertheless it was the strongest one we’ve ever felt here.  I think the Seattle earthquake we had a few years ago had a higher rating, but the ground movement didn’t feel as severe.  Again, thanks for the emails of support and concern.

BTW – With all the natural disasters we’ve been in: the tsunami, typhoons and most recently earthquakes, I am going to add a new Category to our list: Natural Disasters.  Anyone want to come stay with us?