August 11 2007 Typhoon Signal 8

Typhoon Pabuk visited Hong Kong in the past couple of days. It was a very fickle typhoon. One day it skirted to our west, went up into Guangdong Provence in China, then changed its mind and came veering toward us again.

On August 8^th the signal went to a 1 and things got all dim and murky that afternoon. It was the first time in ages that we had anything except bright hot sunny skies, so it was kind of fun to have some real weather for a change. This was the first pass of the typhoon. The signal went to a 3 that evening, and I contemplated whether to bother to bring any of my plants in off the balcony. I decided they were safe enough. I have one heavy planter with basil and mint in it that was on the edge of the balcony. When I got up the next morning it wasn’t there! I looked closer and realized that it had slid off the edge and landed on the floor of the balcony. It landed right side up and nothing was broken or even bent! Good thing it was a plastic planter.

I decided to just leave it there on the floor for the time being, because it was still pretty rainy and windy, even though the typhoon had (seemly) passed us by.

Yesterday (Friday, the 10^th) was rainy, but when I left the apartment at 9 AM to go to Yoga there was no typhoon warning at all. I went to Yoga, browsed around SoHo a little, and then met some friends for lunch at the Marriot at Pacific Place around noon. By then there was a typhoon 1 warning again, and it was raining pretty steadily. We had a very nice lunch and we were just sitting there talking when one of the ladies got a call on her phone. One of her friends had called to warn her that a typhoon signal 8 was going to be posted at 3:30 pm (this was around 2 pm). We all kind of leaped up, because when the warning goes to an 8 everything closes - the shops, the banks, the MTR, the buses, the
taxis, EVERYTHING! So if you don't get home you can be stuck! We hurriedly paid our bill. One of the ladies lives in my apartment complex, so we tried to catch a taxi together, but no luck, no taxis were to be had at the hotel. So we hopped on the MTR (yes us and half of Hong Kong it seemed), rode over to Central, and crossed our fingers for the apartment shuttle. The shuttle was our last option. We could see the taxis all putting up their out of service signs as they passed us by on Queen’s Road. There was a huge crowd waiting for the shuttle, and at one point we wondered if it was still running, and if we would get on. If the shuttle didn’t come we were going to have to walk. It was rainy and windy, but the biggest issue was the fact that we were all in high heels! We would have taken the escalator up as far as we could, but I think I would have been strongly tempted to go barefoot before we got home, not a very appetizing thought in Hong Kong! Fortunately the shuttle came and we got home safely.

I knew Lee was planning on going shopping that afternoon, so I kept trying to call him, but I couldn't get through. The cell phone lines must have been overloaded, because everyone was trying to call their friends and family. I got home and sure enough he wasn't here. After awhile he was able to call me. "What's going on? All the shops are closed!" I KNEW he wouldn't have a clue....I told him to get on over to the shuttle – I called the apartment office and they said that the shuttle would keep running until 4:30 and then it would stop. He eventually got home safely too.

That ended up being the most exciting thing about typhoon Pabuk. Later that evening it took another 90 degree turned and missed Hong Kong a second time. It was very anticlimactic.

I got on the Hong Kong Observatory website and decided to read up on the signals. Signals 1, 3 and 8 are used to indicate a typhoon that is passing close to Hong Kong. The wind speed increases with each signal. Unless the signal goes to 10 however, Hong Kong is not experiencing a direct hit by a hurricane. So although a signal 8 predicts gale force winds, it’s still not a hurricane.

It’s just the beginning of the typhoon season here. We had a signal 3 at around this time last year (a blog is very handy for looking up these things) and it caused a lot of damage. After that storm they decided they needed to check the wind speed in more areas around Hong Kong. Because it is so mountainous there are a lot of micro-climates and the amount of wind and rain can vary a lot from one area to another.

It’s funny to think that last weekend it was so hot and sunny and we went to the beach! I’ve got some pictures of the beach we went to last weekend – Half Moon Bay, but I haven’t loaded them to the computer yet, so I don’t know if they came out very well. It was a lovely little beach and the water was crystal clear, but it was quite a haul to get there. We had to take the MTR and then a bus and THEN a sampan. I know my Cantonese has improved a little. I could tell the sampan lady what time we wanted to be picked up and argue about the price a little, and say “Ho Tin!” (nice weather) while we were in the boat. However, she started talking Cantonese to me, and 99% of it flew right by me. I just can’t understand them unless they speak really really slowly. I DID know that when I said “come at 3 pm” she said “you want to me come get you at 3 pm?” That was the important part, that and the price!