The Storm Has Passed
To report another typhoon seems like old news. Three years ago it was Mawar, a wimp of a typhoon compared to the four I experienced while living in Chuuk during the 70s and 80s. I suppose that the typhoon this past week, Sinlaku, might be dismissed as no stronger than Mawar here on Guam. Wind speeds never made it beyond 90 mph, and the damage to buildings seems to have been minor, at least as typhoons go.
For dramatic stories, you’ll have to check out the footage from Chuuk, where the storm began, and Saipan, the island it ripped through before it finally ran out of energy. On both of those islands, houses were torn down, people were forced to take refuge wherever they could, and severe damage was done to the community, through flooding as well as the force of the wind.
As for us on Guam, we were spared the most damaging effects. This typhoon, like the last one, was more a test of endurance than anything. Storm warnings began a few days before the onset, but the speed of the storm winds increases as its direction changes. It’s going to glance off the northern tip of the island! No, it’s veering north and might strike Saipan! We sat in front of our phones or laptops, this time for a good reason, to try to figure out when it will hit the island and what sort of force we can expect. We were ready for a Sunday evening onset, but the storm was taking its own sweet time. Sunday passed, and then Monday came and almost went before the winds sped up, rainfall increased, and we knew we were in it.
It wasn’t long before the power went off. So we flicked on our battery lamps and waited. Tuesday passed, and then Wednesday, but the winds were still blowing moderately, with gusts of 70 or 80 mph, since we weren’t in the direct path of the storm. The gusts calmed down, but the power remained off. All day Thursday, as the winds subsided and the rainfall diminished to no more than a drizzle, the power remained off. It is now Friday evening in Guam; the strong winds and heavy rainfall have passed, but the power is still off.
The typhoon alert went back to normal, courtesy of the government, and traffic was building up yesterday as I drove around in search of a cup of coffee. The roads were still strewn with small branches and leaves, several of the traffic lights had gone dead, but structural damage was minimal, at least from what I could see.
After hearing early reports of damage on Saipan and Chuuk, I must apologize to you for presenting the softer side of a storm that clearly had a serious impact on those other two islands. For me, the unpleasant effects were modest: confinement in my secure bunker (aka the parish rectory), with loss of power and deprivation of that hot cup of coffee that usually starts the day. For others elsewhere, the impact was much more serious. My earnest prayers are with them, the true survivors.
PS: Where do they get the names for these typhoons? Once upon a time typhoons wore dresses, or at least they were given feminine names. Now they pick up names that seem to have been lifted from E.T. When I first heard the name bestowed on this typhoon, it seemed strangely familiar. Then I remembered that Sinlanka (not Sinlaku) was the breadfruit goddess of Kosrae.
