They cancelled school today since the HK government is expected to
hoist the Typhoon 8 warning within the hour. In the absence of any
African coups, earthquakes or tsunami to report on, I thought I'd keep
up my natural disaster TRs with some info on the imminent Typhoon.

Here in HK, they have a system to keep the population aware of
incoming storms. Its an artifact of the turn of the century, when
hundreds of opium ships came in and out, but wireless was not in
common use. On the top of the biggest hill on the island (a very big
hill at that), they would hoist a series of large markers that could
be seen out to sea. The original markers were denoted as 'typhoon
signal 1', 'typhoon signal 2, 'typhoon signal 3', etc up to 'typhoon
signal 10'. Soon thereafter, they were shortened to only Typhoon 1,
Typhoon 3, Typhoon 8 and Typhoon 10.

Signal 1 means that a severe storm is approaching...stay tuned.
Locally, when a T1 is issued, nothing changes (schools and businesses
are open), but people start getting prepared in case the signal
increases. When a T3 is issued, it means a typhoon is within a couple
hundred miles, and may or may not be moving toward HK. If it is
determined to potentially hit the city within a few hours, a T8 is
issued and all businesses and schools shut down, everyone goes home,
and roads are closed to private transport. If a T10 is issued, then
the storm is on your head, everything gets boxed up and people are not
even allowed to leave the buildings they are in.

Along with the T signals, there are rainfall signals. An Amber rain
means 'its coming down hard and watch to see if it gets worse'. A Red
Rain is the worst downfall you ever saw, with sheets of torrential
rain that can wash out roads. A Black Rain is like a firehose is over
your head, and hillsides and buildings get washed out. Streets
instantly flood as drainages get overwhelmed, and its not uncommon for
cars and pedestrians to get washed away.

Currently, we are under a T3, with the T8 expected in a few minutes.
Until about 5 minutes ago, it was fairly calm with unlimited
visibility, but the sea swells were throwing the big shipping vessels
around (I can an unobstructed view of the ocean from my front window).
One particular empty ship, maybe 250 feet long, was running for open
water and pitching like crazy, tossing a bow wave about 50 feet higher
than its front deck. The local weather is reporting seas to be upwards
of 20 meters (60 feet) this morning.

As I write this, the rain bands are just hitting now. Visibility just
dropped to about a mile, and the wind is starting to pick up. For now,
its no worse than any regular rain shower, with 10 mph winds and small
drops. But the storm is still 8 hours away....

Stay tuned. I'm going for a walk. :-)

--riverman