The situation on the island is dire—food and water and shelter are all gone for a population quickly ravaged by the storm. Ten are reported dead.. there are hints and suggestions that the number will rise as time goes on. One pilot who was forced to land in Tanna described pure devastation, with entire communities simply flattened.
And that is how natural disasters work. They come quick, they leave fast. They leave misery in the wake.. And deaths. Injuries, but also little quips and anecdotes of miracles that seem to keep humanity hopeful just enough to clean up until the next disaster..
A red alert has been issued for Vanuatu as a massive cyclone begins to lash the South Pacific island nation.
The WEATHER CHANNEL has this:
With Cyclone Pam expected to deal a major blow to the island nation of Vanuatu, officials were pleading with the population to get to safety, or risk their lives. The country spent Thursday stocking up and fortifying buildings for the cyclone’s strong winds, torrential rain and devastating storm surge, but experts fear the worst will happen if Pam hits Vanuatu’s population centers directly, especially the coastal capital, Port Vila. The country’s government issued a red alert for all six provinces as Pam closed in, BBC said. The alert orders all of the South Pacific nation’s 250,000 residents to get to shelter immediately, the report added.
And even more intense, a tweet posted by a user Humans of Vanuatu says a few things about the storm, right now, as it hits:
Folks, I’ll be honest. It’s really bad out there. The wind is howling with a deep roar that just doesn’t let up. Anyone not in shelter now is in mortal danger. Frankly, I don’t think our country will make it through this without some deep scars.
And
The shutters are groaning like ghouls, but the power is still on, and my internet is still running full bore. Not sure how I’d be feeling if not for that….
More:
Just got a text from some of the skeleton crew on the Tina 1, one of those ships opposite our house that you saw in the video. They’d love to get off the ship now, but they can’t. They’re stuck there for the duration.
Here is the sight from this weekend’s weather forecast.. anything pink and purple are winter weather somethings. And there are lots of them, storms are a plenty..
The season is almost ready to change. I hear song birds in the morning now and the noon sun—when it is out—is strong.. But until the spring blossoms bloom, it’s going to be considerably cold and snowy. That continues, obviously, this weekend.
I think the second week of March will be a transition..
WOW..
This is superstorm, supertyphoon, hell in a spiral. It’s name is Phanfone, and it’s heading towards Japan—a nation crushed by storm after storm this season..
Waves of 50 feet are possible. Its strength is now the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane..
Few storms on earth have reached this intensity—that we are aware of at least..
Two news events taking place in the weather department today.. First off, there is a possibility that the storm, Cristobal, will become a threat to the United States next week..MORE HERE. Notable news: Most models are not taking this towards New Orleans or New York City as they were previously, but some have it dangerously close to the East Coast.. while others have a Florida impact. Models will soon come together..until then it’s anyone’s guess.
This is a story worth paying close attention to.. If you look at the map, check the city of New Orleans.. this forecast is being made for August 28 2014. The same date as another famous hurricane hit, Katrina in 2005. Could this be a repeat? The path looks frighteningly the same.. The factors are obvious subject to change, and a hurricane may not necessarily strike in the same fashion —or strength. But this map encourages negative thoughts about the near future in that area..
The town of Revere, where the tornado struck, has about 53,000 people.. it’s awfully close to the Boston International Airport–about 16 minutes apart as a matter of fact.
The year (maybe decade) of ‘rare’ weather events are occurring so much.. rarity may not even be an issue anymore..
