Wandering Fel

Six months in Taipei, experienced two earthquakes and two typhoons. Whew. Thanks God it was not that bad.

Actually, typhoon Trami has just passed Taiwan not long time ago when I was typing this. And oh boy, it was raining all days (especially yesterday). I don't know where else to check on the typhoon condition apart from the news on TV. Taiwan's TV station broadcast news in the morning (around 8-9ish), noon, and evening (7-ish).

But...what if you have a TV but don't understand a single thing they say on TV? (chances this will happen to you if you don't subscribe to a cable TV, like me!).

Well, no worries! After scrambling through google websites, I've found a bit of information which may be useful in the typhoon days (hopefully you still have internet connection, even though you don't have cable TV. =P)

1. Where to check the location of the typhoon?

Most countries in the world including Taiwan has its own weather bureau. And the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) website has its English version. Phew. - http://www.cwb.gov.tw/eng/

The website will show you the satellite view of the typhoon. Like this one below. Yes, when I captured this picture, typhoon Trami is still hovering over Taiwan. U_U.

You can click the "Typhoon Warning" icon on the right top of the website to get more information on the typhoon.

For example, you can check the forecasted path of the typhoon under "Path" or "Potential Track Area", which usually ends in China.

The tab beside "Potential Track Area" tab which is called "Work and Class Status During Natural Disasters" will lead you to the no. 2 useful website in the typhoon days.

2. Do we have work or class on typhoon day?

If you are working in Taiwan, most likely you are expecting the Government to declare "停辦停課"/ "Tíngbàn tíngkè" day, which literally means no work and no class day. The 停辦停課 day is not declared on national basis. Instead, it is based on the township. Town A may not have to go to work tomorrow while town B still have to go to work.

For complete list of the "停辦停課" status for each city, you can go to this website: http://www.dgpa.gov.tw/ndse.html.

The website will list down all county and cities in Taiwan and the work and class status during natural disasters.

Taiwan Work and Class Status during Natural Disaster

That's the two websites that I've found useful during my stay in Taiwan especially on typhoon days. Do make sure to stock up food (at least for one day) and try to avoid going out especially when there's strong wind blowing outside your house. (My classmate's roof got blown by the wind so yeah it can be pretty scary sometimes.)

I know that typhoon are common in Taiwan during summer but I never thought I'm gonna have to experience it. O_O.

Hmm wait, what is a typhoon anyway? Is it like the one we see in the movie "Twister"? Aren't we screwed if Typhoon Soulik looks like that????

Apparently, a typhoon is a combination between a very heavy rain (called "torrential rain") and a super strong wind (which can break shop signs and blow up trees). And this is how Typhoon Soulik looks like from the outer space. It looks like a whirlwind of clouds.

I've never experienced typhoon before so I did a lot of Google-ing about what to prepare. My Mandarin teachers have been telling the students one thing and another but they have been consistent in telling us to STAY INDOOR during the typhoon.

So, how are we supposed to know when the typhoon is going to make a landfall?

To be honest with you, there's no way to know when unless you follow the news. The sky looks clear in the morning before the typhoon. There's even a rainbow!

The government will make an official statement which will be broadcasted by all local TV channels in Taiwan. If you are studying Mandarin in Taiwan, most likely your teachers/ schools will update you on the timing. This time, Taiwanese government allowed the offices and schools to close at 2PM (hours before the typhoon made a landfall). If you see the characters "停班停課"/"Tíng bān tíng kè" on your TV screen, that means the government has declared a "stop-work-stop-school" policy which means everybody can go home to prepare the necessity for the upcoming typhoon.

More clouds built up in the afternoon time.

In the precious few hours, you can prepare a few things in your house against the typhoon.

1. Stocking up food and drinking waters. (Typhoon usually lasts for max a day but heard that there's an occasion where it's reluctant to leave Taiwan and stay for days. Horror!)

2. Stocking up water for bath usage (just in case of 停水/ stop water).

3. Tape and cover your window. I didn't really tape my window but I taped over a cover behind it to make sure that in the event of breakage, the double cover can at least reduce the impact. I guess putting a wood or something strong will be better but I don't have any "carpentry" skill and there's no man in the house. So yeah. U_U.

4. Buy a flashlight (just in case of 停電/ blackout). The Mandarin teachers told us that this will be unlikely as the Government has made some improvement over the years to avoid this (well, the country does get battered by typhoon every year).

When the typhoon made a landfall around 3-4AM on Saturday (07/13), it's really scary and you can hear the sound of the strong wind slapping your roof, your window, your door...oh well, the whole building. The door keep on slamming up and fro and at certain point, you can feel the building is kinda swaying (although not as hard as one in an earthquake). Not a pleasant experience but since there's nothing I can do (except praying that it will die down very fast) and go back to sleep. Thanks goodness there's not much damage around my neighborhood but I did saw some bad damages all over Taiwan. U_U.

Please don't let there be another typhoon in Taiwan this year. (Well, I can make a wish, can't I?)

Wandering Fel

Useful website to check on typhoon in Taiwan

What to prepare when typhoon is coming to Taiwan?