“Bottom line: Super Typhoon Sanba, arguably the strongest storm to develop across the globe in 2012 is packing winds around 160 mph, and peaked with sustain winds of around 175 mph on Thursday, September 13, 2012. Sanba will push north into Okinawa, Japan and eventually push into South Korea as a Category 2 storm next Monday. The good news about Sanba is that the storm will likely weaken as it pushes over cooler waters. Of course, intensity forecasts are unpredictable, so residents that are possibly in Sanba’s path should be prepared.”

Not your usual Saturday morning

Normal Saturday morning

“Arguably the strongest storm to develop across the globe in 2012” is going to pass oer  my place on Sunday morning about 24 hours from now. I feel so privileged. Let’s see how it develops. Cue samba music.

World’s biggest assed storm coming right to my front door. Hooray!

Lunchtime Saturday – very heavy rain but not much wind.

Can you see my house?

Unfortunately the real fury of the typhoon came in the early hours. I got up at 6:00 to check the barograph and generally see how things were progressing. Barograph still going down with much howling and wailing from Sanba.

The situation at 6:00. No electricity or gas.

By the time it got light the barograph was on the way up again and there was a general feeling that the worst was over. No power until 11:30. This when an Ipad comes in really handy. You can read on it in the dark and listen to whatever you want when everything else is dead.  I should talk to Apple about building typhoons into their marketing.

Lunch time Sunday

Okinawa is the best place for barographs!

At lunchtime I go for a wander. It is still extremely windy. So much so that it is impossible to see through the viewfinder of the camera as can be seen by the focus of following movie. It hope it conveys the huge volume of sea heaving and groaning against the land.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67mSs2iNg5c&feature=youtu.be

Sand blown all over the road.

A good thing about typhoons is that rarer birds show up in the more sheltered valleys.

Black-winged stilt

No idea what this is.

Oh well the storm is over and I feel a sense of flatness. I like the really strong stuff.

And now the storm is over,
And we are safe and well
We will go down to a public house,
And sit and drink like hell
We will drink strong ale and porter,
And we’ll make the rafters roar
And when our money is all spent,
We will go to sea once more
FINE GIRL YOU ARE
You’re the girl that I adore,
But still I live in hope to see
The holy Ground once more, FINE GIRL YOU ARE