Nida Break

Typhoon Nida, the first "Signal 8" typhoon to hit Hong Kong this season and my first real tropical cyclone, was a bit of a letdown. Apparently an "8" is pretty severe, but the results were underwhelming as far as natural disasters go. As far as know no one died, which is fortunate of course, but for a storm that pretty much hit the city dead-on you'd expect a little more ferocity. The hurricanes that I have (vicariously) experienced have always seemed worse. Maybe typhoons are just not as strong, or maybe Hong Kongers just know how to deal with the wind and storm surge, just as they have mastered LANDSLIP (which I am also glad did not happen, because now I am not living at the base of a mountain, but on top of one).

It's possible my decision to hunker down in my apartment, with its apparently-vibranium-reinforced walls, prevented me from really experiencing the squall. Others when out to get knocked around by 90-per-hour winds, or at least left their windows open to enjoy the free air-conditioning. As much as I had been sweating the past week I probably could have used a natural shower and blow-dry. Based on my roommate's description, I probably made the right decision. Even if it wasn't as powerful as it could have been, playing chicken with Nida's winds would have put me at risk of getting hit by tree branches, bamboo-scaffolding, or worse, FLYING SNAKES.