Typhoon – a part of our daily life
Typhoon Meranti beat up the South of Taiwan without mercy on September
14, the day before Mid-Autumn Festival. People were supposed to get home from wherever
they were, to celebrate the four-day holiday, and to appreciate the gathering
on this special night. On Mid-Autumn Festival, we always plan to have a
lovely night while barbecuing and watching the full moon, a symbol of wholeness
of a family.
In
Kaohsiung, the biggest harbor city located in the South, there was no luck with
Meranti. It knocked down more than 10,000 trees along the streets excluding the
damage to the private areas. It also caused the loss of more than NT$
450,000,000.00 (around US$ 13,636,363.00) only in the industries of agriculture and livestock, the blackout which
suddenly occurred in near half million households before Meranti attacked Kaohsiung, and the water supply which failed to support nearly 700,000 families with
tap-water for more than a day.
In
fact, on September 14th the winds were blowing stronger and stronger right after the typhoon hit
the south tip of Taiwan. The strong winds reached Kaohsiung at midday, but
before that many houses had lost electricity already. Due to that, it stopped
the water supply, and the land-phones lost the function and the connection of
cell phones didn’t work well in some areas either.
The
tap-water came back to function after the power was back to work in some
districts within 24 hours but took a week in Pintong County on September 21 (United Daily News, September 21, 2016).
Meranti stayed three whole hours in Kaohsiung and the winds were so strong and powerful
that they were shaking the cement buildings and one could feel it beyond
question and hear the noises of serious destruction done by the might winds.
They swept away everything on their way if they were able to.
She
was scared that the windows facing the south were probably broken and the roofs
on the third floor were apparently soon being torn off. There was no one around
to give a handy help and the land phone did stop service as soon as the
electricity was off, from 10 to 22. Who could she contact with?
Sometimes
some mayors in different cities preemptively (搶先)
close schools and public services since they are entitled to make a quick
decision about if a typhoon might cause fatal damages.
What
about an evacuation? In general, people would be suggested to stay home because
the houses built against earthquakes and typhoons, except those in the mountain
areas where there might be landfalls.
In
this case, police and soldiers will go house to house to help holdouts to leave
storm-shattered areas, even those stubborn ones coaxed to leave because of the
risk of life loss. A plan of bumper to bumper exodus is
urgent to do even though it comes suddenly and rains pitchforks not
like what is predicted given by the weathermen. The most dangerous part is
rescue workers reach some of those areas, where the power has already been cut
off, and they have to face what they deal with.
She
used to enjoy reading in the dim light of the candle at a typhoon night and nipping snacks when
she was little, or before she had my own family. Nothing to worry about when
typhoons occurred, the only thing she really cared about was if she’d
have a day off, not going to school but stayed home to listen the winds blowing
and the rain pouring down. The only thing bothered her then was it seemed a hard
time waiting for the mayor’s announcement. It is usually broadcasted on TV at
10 pm about if the typhoon is a threat, which promises a day off for the safety
of everyone.
The up-and-down fuselage shook violently, and he thought it wasn’t going to make it a safe flight through the continuous turbulences. The one sitting next to him was puking in the paper bag. He thought he was going to be sick too. Fortunately before landing, the plane held a steady path, and he fidgeted in collective relief. He wished he hadn’t volunteered to attend the conference held in Japan but could have safely stayed home with his wife.
On the next day, morning light revealed deserted streets covered with fallen trees, traffic signs, lamp posts and broken glass from shattered windows on surrounding office buildings, waiting for repairs indeed.
It’s believed that despite being a frequent target for powerful Pacific typhoons which usually occur from June to September, Taiwan has a track record of limiting their deadly impact. Besides, people generally know how to manage the preparation and deal properly with the possible dangers brought by an unpredictable oncoming attack of a typhoon. They always save flip-top cans of food or drink and buy greens in advance. It’s predictable the prices of fruits and vegetables will rocket up after the typhoon surges over the island.
Matter-of-factly there
have been greedy go-betweens for years to make profits of greens from the typhoon attacks,
not the farmers who suffer a lot from the loss of their hard farm-working and
so do the people who need those greens. The government is helpless to do
anything to stop this chaos while people have no choice but accept, busy
repairing the damages caused by the natural disaster. Two months has passed and
the government still can’t take it under control (United Daily News, October 29, 2016). Too sad isn’t it?
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