Awaiting Super Typhoon Yolanda
A few days ago, a very strong storm developed in the Pacific. Haiyan was formed in almost perfect conditions to become the strongest storm in the world this year. Haiyan is locally known as Yolanda. Super Typhoon Yolanda has a similar path of the legendary typhoon Ruping that battered Cebu. Yolanda is much stronger, though. Packing winds of over 250 kph near the center, it is bound to create much damaged.
One factor that substantially increased the survival rate of Filipinos is the internet. the internet helped newsmen and bloggers get more information about the typhoon. Information is very important because the government weather bureau PAGASA do not provide ample details until the weather disturbance enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility. With more information and early detection, more Filipinos become aware of the potentially catastrophic weather occurrence.
Class suspensions were announced days early and many people started preparing for the super typhoon as early as Monday. There was a buying frenzy for flashlights and canned goods. Grocery sales were good.
I ended up buying a few flashlights even if knew that landfall would likely be during daytime. It's better to be safe than sorry I guess. My mom in law told me that she was not able to buy flashlight because they were no stocks anymore at the Fooda Panagdait. I have drive Parkmall to be able buy it. There were ample stocks in Handyman in Parkmall and there were a lot of people there.
I also bought cellphone load and subscribed to unlimited internet just in case. Hopefully, the signal would still be good during and after the typhoon. I am also hoping that there will be no power outages.
Cebu was put under public storm signals earlier today but all in all, it was a nice cloudy day. Many people were actually confused on the absence of rain or winds but I think PAGASA just wanted to err on the side of caution. The wait for Yolanda is quite tough. It's like fighting Manny Pacquiao and you know you can't lower your defenses because the power punch will come, you just don't know when.
While waiting, I prepared a checklist on the things that I should have when Yolanda strikes.
1. Load - How can you call people if you have no load.
2. Charge - There is a big possibility of brownouts so you have to charge everything.
3. Cash - Just in case you need to buy stuff and if there's no power then there will be No ATMS.
4. Food - You have to buy easy to prepare items. You may even also have to buy dog food if you have pet dogs.
5. Water - It is probably one of the most important things to have. You can survive days of being hungry but not much being thirsty.
6. Emergency Lights - This is a priority especially for people who doesn't like sleeping without lights.
7. Parking - You have to move your cars in a safe place. You should park away from weak structures, poles, or trees.
8. Documents - Passports, Insurance, Bank Books must be in dry and secure place. Flooding could happen and it will be tiring to replace these documents if gets wet.
9. Emergency Numbers - You have to know who to call in case of emergency.
10. Wires - Disconnect appliances from the sockets that could be flooded.
How about you, have you prepared anything?
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