Typhoon Soudelor - Day by Day

8-4-15
     Parts of Northern Taiwan have already picked up over 12 inches (300 millimeters) of rain in the 24 hours ahead of the storm's approach, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.

     As of Friday midnight, some 82,000 homes were without power, according to Taiwan Power Company.

     Schools and government offices in some areas were closed Friday for all or part of the day. Taiwanese airlines have announced flight adjustments, canceling a number of domestic and international flights for Saturday, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. Railways have likewise suspended high speed and regular train services, said the Agency.

     The Central Weather Bureau has warned 16 cities and counties they're likely to experience intense rain and powerful winds from Soudelor. Earlier this week, Soudelor became the strongest storm on the planet so far this year with peak winds at 180 mph (290 kph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center

8-5-15 7:22 am Wed. 

     The typhoon is extremely big and heading this way tomorrow evening. Leona mentioned going to South Borough to Costco (not to lose bonus points) and to Cat's House to get cakes for Chinese Father's Day this weekend before the storm hits. I wish there was something I could do to protect the palm trees on the patio from being shredded by the winds it was in the last large typhoon last year. Leona tied rope to the trees the weekend I went to Taipei to see Jeff and his sister (neither of whom has contacted me since, nor I them) but there's no torque. 

8-5-15 5:51 pm Wed. 

      With the typhoon coming, I have one more morning to take a bike ride. By Friday morning it will probably be wet around here until Monday; that’s three mornings I can’t ride the bike up the Han River. Abstaining from smoking Jerry adds to the “snow day” feeling of the typhoon days. I can’t drink any liquor, either, because of the danger of gout. I have to relax and do things like read, write, sleep, blog, nap, and perhaps organize some photos. . I hope to talk with the kids, too. What I shouldn’t do is snack. Tomorrow will be the last day to go out, but we will pick up two Fathers’ Day cakes and food from Costco. It will be a bad combination to stay home and eat. I must be on my guard.

8-6-15 6:51 am Thurs. 

     The sky is hazy but no sign of a typhoon yet.  There is little wind and the pigeons from the neighbor with the pet shop down Dong-Shan Road are getting their morning exercise. They remind me of Sal Armele whose father had a whole room of birds across the street from the Loew's 46th St. movie theater; captive birds. There is something so horrible about keeping birds in cages.  I digress. The point is it is a beautiful sunny morning. Latte is marching around on the patio. The buttered English muffin was delicious. I just finished my Facebook 'liking' and comments. 

8-8-15 3:58 pm Sat. 

      I have been home riding out the typhoon that began to blow at 2:00 am as Leona and I slept. Friday was the last dry day and we took advantage by going to our favorite short steak house for lunch. I had time to ride my bike yesterday morning, too. In the evening, Leona and I shared a bottle of wine and some cheese we’ve been saving for our last three Friday evenings in.

       At 2:00 am, we heard a crash from outside on the patio and looked to see the mosaic tile table that I had propped up against the bush that had a broken pot from the typhoon a month ago, had fallen over as the plant fell. We also noticed the plastic retaining fence above the ledge had folded over or blown away ripping three wooden slats from the ledge. Meanwhile, the palm tree had become tipsy and was leaning on the ledge. I brought inside the pinwheel and metal sun chatchka that were bouncing off of the tea room air-conditioner and also brought in the Arizona route 66 sign that was making noise.  The steel girl planter had fallen over behind it and moved the protective sleeve. We were up with the howling wing until past 4:00 am and then managed to get back to sleep but not before we let the cats into the house from the enclosed patio which rattled dangerously. Thank goodness, the roof was still there and the minimal damage was some wine corks that had fallen off the beam as the structure shook in the 80 m.p.h. wind.

             There was no bike riding today when I woke up around 9:00 am. My first task was to go down to retrieve the broken plastic fencing that had blown off our ledge and one of the wooden slats it had taken along with it. I cleaned up the debris on the outside patio in anticipation of the rains that were to follow; I didn’t want the debris to block the drains. We watched the news on TV and saw all the property damage with the dangerous heavy rains still to come.

       It was drizzling heading into the eye of the storm until 1:00 pm, now on the backside of the storm, it has been pouring outside. I took a nap after lunch and have been on the internet ever since.

8-9-15 

       The rain has stopped in Taichung. It looks like I will be able to ride the bike this morning. In the afternoon I have to repair the tattered and bent plastic fence around the patio before I can let Latte go outside. We also need to buy a new pot for the plant by our bedroom; it cracked a month ago and, luckily, we hadn’t bought a new one yet before Friday night’s monster winds.

8-10-15

       The rain has stopped. It is hazy but there are no rain clouds over Taichung. I didn’t study any Mandarin since last Wednesday’s class but I look forward to going to class in half an hour. Nala is taking a nap beside me on the desk. She is so adorable. Latte is sleeping somewhere else after darting around the house a little and picking on Nala. He couldn’t get rid of his energy on the outdoor patio as I haven’t finished replacing the torn off part of the safety fence.

8-11-15 7:35 am Tues. 

      The outdoor patio is looking good after I spent about three hours on it yesterday finishing replacing the fence the typhoon blew down early Saturday morning. After lunch, Leona and I went to the gardening nursery to find a replacement for the pot that cracked a month ago; we found a matching black ceramic pot, heavy and square-bottomed, so the plant won’t be blown over so easily during the next big wind.