My experience with Typhoon Rananim

On Aug. 12, 2004 Taizhou witnessed a severe Typhoon Rananim which is the most powerful to hit china since 1997. The typhoon Rananim, the 14th this year, packing high-velocity winds up to 160 km per hour, kills 74, leaves 11 people missing, injured many people and knocked down many houses that day in Taizhou. Many of the injuries were caused by collapsing homes. As a local inhabitant, I had a terrible experience.

The eye of the storm, or the center of huge air fennel made landfall at about 8 p.m. in the coastal city of Wenling which is under the control of Taizhou. From morning to evening that day in Taizhou city, Rananim brought torrential rains and winds. I came back from my office to my house at 2:15 PM. The rainstorm which was bought by Rananim is so severe that it is difficult to let my scooter go. My scooter was hardly fallen down there times. In the mean while, I should take care of my body because shopping signboards were flying out and hit people's arms and legs like knives. The wind was really very, very strong and I had never seen it. This was a horrible and exciting ride. When I got home and opened the door to the balcony I heard a huge sound. Oh, my god. The solar water hearter in the upperest platform of my apartment's building was flying out and knocked down on the ground. It was luck that no man was in the ground that time. If anyone was in the ground that time, the result cannot be thought. Many things from air was landed to my balcony so that My balcony was in a mess.

In Taizhou that day, lots of trees and electricity pylons were toppled. Power was knocked out and water service were not available from 3:00 PM to the next day. From 4:00 PM to about 5:30 PM, there is no telephone and internet service. I sat in my living room and read something interesting that afternoon. I had no candle in my appartment and my emergency lamp didn't charge. The only light from my laptop. I used the laptop and connect to the Internet about 1 hour that evening. I dare not use it too long because I din't know there was or was not power service the next day. Fortunately, in the next day's evening ( yesterday evening), I had power and water. But there were some areas in Taizhou where weren't power and water service. Today the power and water haven't been to the norm state.

The city government urges that every office should have one person on duty on Saturday and Sunday. I am assigned to overwork tomorrow ( Aug. 15, 2004). So I will have my Sunday in my office.