Word has it that a tropical depression is hovering out to the northeast of the islands. That in itself is not unusual – such storms are always floating around here this time of year. But this one is supposedly headed straight for us and is expected to intensify into a tropical cyclone, possibly a big one. We headed into town today (Friday) to drop off our laundry and noticed all the school kids had gotten out early, although the reports I heard say the (potential) cyclone won’t hit us until probably Sunday. The grocery store was unusually packed as well, presumably with people stocking up for any potential outages.
Of course, I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt, but I wouldn’t mind a little meteorological excitement right about now. We missed out on the tsunami so a little cyclone would only be fair compensation. If this thing does materialize and is severe enough, the homeowner has left us instructions to board up the house using a screw gun and some sheets of plywood kept below the deck, turn off the gas and electricity, and go to a hotel in town. Semoko, like most Fijians I assume, has no plans to abandon house and says we should stay with him in one of his guest cottages. There aren’t any big trees around his place so that’s a possibility, but if the storm looks like a doozy, we might go for the hotel instead. Of course, what typically happens in these situations is that everyone gets all excited, and then the storm takes a left turn and misses everything, leaving only a bit of rain. We’ll see.
Of course, I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt, but I wouldn’t mind a little meteorological excitement right about now. We missed out on the tsunami so a little cyclone would only be fair compensation. If this thing does materialize and is severe enough, the homeowner has left us instructions to board up the house using a screw gun and some sheets of plywood kept below the deck, turn off the gas and electricity, and go to a hotel in town. Semoko, like most Fijians I assume, has no plans to abandon house and says we should stay with him in one of his guest cottages. There aren’t any big trees around his place so that’s a possibility, but if the storm looks like a doozy, we might go for the hotel instead. Of course, what typically happens in these situations is that everyone gets all excited, and then the storm takes a left turn and misses everything, leaving only a bit of rain. We’ll see.
Hmmm. Our islands look kinda small compared to that storm...
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