Seeking Shelter in St. Augustine: Reflections on Typhoon Haiyan

We arrived this afternoon at River's Edge Marina in St. Augustine.  The weather was warm and gorgeous, apparently a typical pre-cold front day, and the trip down was uneventful.

Jamey and I carefully avoided discussing the fears we both knew we had as we moved down:

1. Was the repair that Jamey did on the squeaking engine last night adequate?
2. What if it wasn't or what if something else happened to the engine?
3. What would we do if we ended up somewhere unsheltered in the forecasted gale force winds?

The cold front that is arriving in the early morning hours tomorrow will be bringing Big Wind.  Winds will average 28 or 29, and gusts will be in the 30s and maybe low 40s.   It will be this windy throughout the entire day.  This magnitude of wind causes rough water conditions which lead to unpleasant rocking and pitching of the boat.  A few hardy folk will opt to continue to travel, but we are respectful of what I call a "domino effect that leads to doom" if anything were to happen to your engine or boat in this type of weather.   We are dutifully fearful and are so relieved that we made it to the marina.

Gusts measuring 235 mph (among the highest ever recorded) hit the Philippines during Typhoon Haiyan two weeks ago; the storm had sustained winds of 160 to 196 mph.  Storm surges between 13 to 19 feet hit various parts of the coast.

The girls are aware that we made deliberate efforts to seek shelter from the upcoming bad weather.  They understand that it makes sense to escape a storm.  They hear stories about Katrina every time we visit New Orleans.  We have had to briefly evacuate our home twice during tsunami warnings in Hawaii.

"Why did the people in the towns not evacuate?" asked Indigo as we discussed Typhoon Haiyan.

It's such a simple question.  It makes sense to a seven-year-old that you should be able to just get away from the storm.  How do I explain to her all the reasons why the typhoon's victims were still in the path of the storm?

People so poor that they do not have the means to get very far. People so poor that they do not want to leave their homes out of fear that if they are not there to protect their few possessions from the storm or from looters, they will lose everything.

Inadequate evacuation shelters, insufficient emergency preparation by the Philippine government.

Limited access to information. Limited understanding.  We have three to four great weather resources on the web that we compare and analyze to understand how severe a cold front or storm will be.  If we don't comprehend a particular forecast, we look up the terminology or look up another explanation till it all makes sense.   It seems that many of the inhabitants in the coastal towns of the Philippines may not have evacuated because they did not understand what "storm surge" meant and were not aware of how devastating and powerful these walls of water can be.

At River's Edge Marina, we are super protected from the upcoming foul weather.  It is actually warm and cosy tonight.  We feel lucky.

Our hearts go out to those who could not so easily find shelter and who were so horrendously affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
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Indigo and Phoenix were directed to do a little research on Typhoon Haiyan and write about the typhoon: 

TYPHOON by Indigo

On November 8 in the Philippines there was a typhoon.  It affected 11,800,000 people.  That is soooo many people.

All of the kids had to look at the dead people.  It looked so horrible! So many families were killed.  Kids lost their moms and dads.

It flooded the whole town.  All the kids were so sad.  Everybody evacuated early into a gym.  All the poor people did not have cars so they could not go to the gym.



TYPHOON HAIYAN by Phoenix

On November 8, 2013 in the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan was making records.  Typhoon Haiyan is the strongest tropical cyclone ever to make landfall.  Winds at 195 mph (breaking the record of 190 mph), gusting up to 235 mph.  The sea was rising 13 feet above normal sea level.

The population in the Philippines was 98,000,000.  13% of the population in the Philippines was affected.  That's 12,900,000.

Typhoon Haiyan has left 4,460 dead, 1,900,000 homeless, 2,500,000 hungry, 12,000 babies will be born in typhoon affected areas this month.

Typhoon Haiyan caused a lot of flooding.  Rescue teams' top priorities are clean water, food, makeshift shelter and sanitation.

Source: http://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-super-typhoon-haiyan accessed 11/16/13
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WHERE WE ARE:  Docked at River's Edge Marina in St. Augustine, Mile 780

WHERE WE STARTED: Anchored in Fort George River, Mile 735

THERE TO HERE:  45 miles, around 7.5 hours, Jamey at the helm

Snaking up the river to get tucked away from the winds

Ready with the dock lines

ST. AUGUSTINE'S NIGHT OF ILLUMINATION: As per our normal modus operandi, we knew very little about St. Augustine when we arrived and certainly did not know that we were arriving on the night that marks the beginning of St. Augustine's famous Nights of Lights.  The Nights of Lights is the city's special celebration that involves lighting up the historic downtown district with two million lights for two months.  It is based on the Spanish tradition of homes and businesses leaving a candle or lamp lit during the Christmas season.  Today was the first day of this celebration, the Night of Illumination.  As we walked into town, we ran into a group of children and teens giving a dance performance.   How lucky to arrive on this special day.  We ended up close to the Christmas tree and right in the heart of the Plaza de la Constitucion during the official turning on of the lights for the Nights of Lights.

Flagler College

We have not been around this many people since we passed through New York City a couple of months ago. 

A few seconds before this picture, all the lights were off.