Documenting a Hurricane

[mrobinett]

Nice, Dan. Good tips.
I remember a friend of mine who was an avid gun owner say when asked about preparing for a hurricane, pointing to his arsenal, "I got those, I can get plenty of supplies."
I havent seen him in a awhile... hmmm.

 

[Tom Mitchell]

Move to Okinawa, and you will never have to worry; the typhoons come straight to you.

Honestly though, I have very little fear of typhoons in Okinawa. I was in the strong Miyako typhoon of 2004. That storm had recorded 10 minute wind speeds of 65 m/s and gusts recorded at 75 m/s. That's 130 knots and 150 knots. The windows cracked, water came in, power went off. That was it. Oh, and the neighbors car rolled down the street. The last typhoon, ManYi, had an instantaneous gust of 140 knots, which was tragic, as it took down both my papaya tree, and my crop of mangoes. I am most disappointed in losing the mangoes, as they are $10 a piece in the stores.

Dan's advice is perfect. Keep yourself fed, and you will be a happy camper. It really isn't that difficult to avoid danger, but that being said, when it finds you it hits you faster than you can blink, so you have to be constantly aware of everything around you, and have backup plans, escape routes, and generally be conservative.

Before, I used to get all angry at people that wanted to ramble into hurricanes and put themselves and others into danger, but now I realize that adults can make their own decisions, at least until law enforcment starts making them for you. As an aside, it my Japanese firefighter friends could not believe that US firefighters stop responding to calls during hurricanes. His words..."that's when they need us the most..." I do not mean to disrespect firefighters or police officers in the US, I know they would just as soon go out and help whoever needs it.

All that being said, after seeing a strong storm, I don't really need to see another. And I would probably never chase a hurricane in the US. Things are just too flimsy there. In typhoon Manyi, we didn't lose electricity. In the Miyako storm power was restored 3 hours after the winds were below 50 knots. In all these storm I have never seen a flying garbage can, except one, as it lifted from the backyard of officer housing on a US base here on the island.

Sorry for the rambling, somewhat irrelevant post. I guess my point is, be careful, and don't sweat losing your mangoes.

 

[Bob Schafer]

I don't mean to turn this into a "Chasing Essentials" thread, but I'm a little surprised none of the hurricane chasers have mentioned/suggested taking some camping equipment. I know Coleman makes some cooking stuff that is compact and light and powered by small propane tanks that would be great to have along. A propane-fueled camping lantern would be cool to have, too.

 

[cedwards]

Dan, that is good advice. Don't foreget to bring a can-opener. One thing I have done while chasing. When it is obvious that I am able to get out of there. I give the left over water and food to the locals if I see some that may need it.
Oh, and be carefull putting dry ice in a cooler with your drinks. you will end up with solid drinks. and busted cans/bottles. I had some friends in Beaumont TX in the dorms. After Hurricane Bonnie, Dry ice was given out to people. My friends filled a big cooler with dry ice and beer bottles. Needless to say, they didn't drink any of the beer.

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

Not a bad thread here: http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6348

 

[Blake Michaleski]

Chris, That's the thread I was hoping you'd post. It is an excellent resource for hurricane chasers.