Disaster at the Doorstep

One of the more worrisome aspects of life in the PH has been the consistent threat of natural disaster. The PH is in the Asia-Pacific section of the Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are a fact of life. Naga sits in the shadow of Mt. Isarog, a potentially active volcano, and Bicol region is in the PH's traditional typhoon belt (on average, the PH experiences approximately 20 typhoons annually), meaning that the region spends half the year under alert for typhoons. In the four months that I've been living in Naga, the city has been lucky (KNOCK ON WOOD!) and has not had a major disruptive event to speak of, but that may soon change: much of the PH are under warning for Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name is Haiyan), currently a Category 4 hurricane that is expected to reach a Category 5+ status. Bicol is not expected to be impacted as badly as other parts of the country, but to be on the safe side, I've been advised to stock up on a week's worth of drinking water, candles and food.

While I am feeling mildly panicked inside over the possibility of being caught in what is expected to be the worst typhoon of the year (it's not being called a super typhoon for no reason!), my office colleagues are extraordinarily zen about it. In fact, one of my colleagues just told me that I should be excited to experience my first typhoon. His description of what happens during a typical typhoon is the following: 'You sit inside, you watch the typhoon, you get bored because there's nothing to do, then you sleep.' I suppose the difference between our reactions boils down to the simple fact that typhoons are regular events for locals, whereas the most significant weather event I've ever experienced has been the freak ice storm in the Ottawa Valley back in 1998. 

Speaking of natural disasters: a few weeks ago I mentioned that I would be heading to Bohol for a work conference and to visit a Canadian colleague who is based there. Those plans were derailed when a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Bohol and Cebu just a couple of days before I was due to depart. My Bohol-based colleague has written about the earthquake experience here, and images of the quake zone can be found here. Unfortunately, Bohol is expected to be the hardest hit region for the incoming typhoon. Suffice it to say that thoughts and/or prayers are going out to Boholanos.