Things I learned from Typhoon Trami
Photo courtesy of CNN
Just a couple days ago, Okinawa was ravaged by Typhoon 24 aka Typhoon Trami. Apparently this was the first typhoon in 6 years to hit Okinawa directly. I’ve encountered two typhoons since moving to Okinawa and boy, does Typhoon Trami puts those two to shame.
Scroll down if you’d like to just read the things I’ve learned instead of a full recount of my experience of Typhoon Trami.
Friday, September 28
Winds were already starting to pick up around 5 pm and torrential rain started to fall. On the way home from speech contest, I was scrambling to pick up last minute things. I had enough food in the fridge that I could probably cook during the typhoon and water from previous typhoon days. It was the first time I could feel my building move ever so slightly and my front door shake from the intensity of the winds. Went to bed at around 3 am, WiFi and power still working.
Saturday, September 29
Woke up around 10 am and my power must’ve gone out at some point because I woke up to my room being really warm and the AC was off. I turned it back it on and it seemed fine. However, my WiFi must’ve stopped working at some point because while I was getting internet, it wasn’t connected. I kept getting redirected to my router settings to reset it. The WiFi is my building is free so it either has to do with the blackout still or the landlady has to reset it.
Really lucky to still have power throughout the day so I kept my devices plugged for as long as possible. I know it’s bad to overcharge but in this case it was needed. Around 3 pm, I began to make jook / congee while I still had daylight. This was when we were in the eye of the storm and things seemed to have calmed down for a bit. However, as the winds picked up, it began to disrupt my kitchen vent and also my AC. I turned off the kitchen vent intermittently because I began hearing a tapping noise from my AC. I don’t think it’s supposed to do that.
Around 6:30 pm, I saw my lights flicker and thought “Oh crap…it’s coming.” Right around 7 pm, that’s when the power in my building and my neighbor’s building lost power. The Family Mart across from me had also lost power. Some adjacent buildings still had power and few losing that an hour later. Thankfully, I had finished cooking the jook and it was the perfect consistency. Shame I couldn’t take a proper photo of it when I still had power.
At this time, I had a fully charged phone which I set on airplane mode, turning it on and off intermittently to check Okinawa Typhoon & Pics on Facebook and send a message here and there. I also had a fully charged laptop which I only used to read books on Kindle for four hours, on the lowest brightness setting and sepia toned pages. By the time I went to sleep it was around midnight and at 68% battery, so not too bad if I do say so myself.
One thing that I did not expect to happen was my water going out not too long after my power went out. The two must’ve been linked. I did something really desperate this night but I won’t go into the details because it’s TMI more than anything. Let’s just say, when you gotta go, you gotta go!
When it started to get stuffy, I had to rely on my cooling mattress pad I bought from Nitori a few weeks ago and decide if I wanted to keep a vent in my while open to let in a bit of air to circulate. I’m supposed to keep this air vent closes during a typhoon but the stuffiness was just unbearable.
Starting around 10 pm, the winds started to get really irritating because it kept blowing through a crack in my windows, making a whistling noise. I was lucky that I had earplugs from another time and that really helped with sleeping through the night. I went to bed, hoping my power and WiFi would return at some point of the night.
Sunday, September 30
9 am - winds have died down, rain was falling intermittently, power and wifi was still not on in building or my block. A lot of people were going to the Family Mart across the street, however, they could not open for business as they did not have power.
Luckily, my gas stove worked so I could heat up the jook I made from the previous night before the power went out. I shared a bowl or two with my neighbor before we ventured out to see what was open. We noticed that the street lights going further into Urasoe, towards my neighborhood San-A mall, were not working and rules of a 4-way intersection are non-existent in Okinawa. It was amusing and amazing to see all the chain restaurants with lines out the door and cars out the driveway. Same with all the gas stations, cars and cars were lining up to get a car wash.
We got as far as American Village, which seemed to be up and running for the most part. The diagonal crosswalk right in front of the Ferris wheel was not functioning and pedestrians had to cross at their own risk.
After getting back to our neighborhood, one of my friends had power and water back, and opened her home for showers and to charge up any electronics. You know who you are and girl, are you a lifesaver!
At some point between the hours of 2 pm and 10 pm, the power had come back on to my building and the building next to me, but the power was still out at Family Mart and the elderly home across the street. WiFi still hasn’t been restored so that’s something to wait on. When the power was still out, I was using the emergency stairs around the back of the building. I decided to keep using the stairs because the elevators looked super sketchy and did not want to risk being stuck in the elevator.
Things I’ve learned from Typhoon Trami:
(Most of these were my experiences and some were friend’s experiences)
In some buildings, when the power goes out, the water may also be linked to the power as well. If you have a tub or bucket, make sure you fill up that tub while you still have water. This will aid you in flushing the toilet (if you can still flush).
Take a shower while you still have water.
Make sure to have candles or a battery powered flashlight for when the power goes out. Candles or a crank-powered flashlight might be more eco-friendly if you care about that.
Something to past the time in the dark, maybe a book to read or Kindle. However, Kindles also run on battery so actual books might be better.
Keep your AC on the lowest and coolest setting so that when the power goes out, your room(s) will be sufficiently cold.
Some of my friends experienced water coming through their door into their genkan (entrance) due to flooding. Have some towels handy and I’ve heard a yoga mat works.
Buy foods that can be boiled in the bag such as pre-made curry or pasta sauces. Microwaveable rice can also be heated up in the pan. This only works if you have a gas stove. Induction stove users…maybe buy a portable gas stove just in case? I’m looking into getting silicone food storage bags to pre-make food that I can just reheat in the bag.
If the power goes out, DO NOT OPEN YOUR FRIDGE. Keep it closed for as long as possible. After my power went out, I did open my fridge twice but I kept the freezer sealed shut. I have not looked at it since my power came back on so update on that later. Consider getting a cooler and fill it with ice so you can keep things cool for as long as possible. If heard freezing water bottles helps with that as well.
I didn’t have to do this but some of my friends did. If you have a washing machine and dryer outside on your balcony, tape those shut with duct tape, and turn off its tap.
Prepare an emergency go bag with first-aid medicine, possibly clothes (do laundry beforehand so you don’t run out of underwear).
For those of us to drive tiny kei cars, fill up the tank and weight your car down as much as possible to prevent it from flipping over or sliding into your neighbor’s car.
This was my first full-force typhoon. With these things still fresh in my mind, I think I’ll be more ready for the next one to come (which is apparently Thursday).