... keep him and his wife Yolanda in your thoughts and prayers. I don't think they got a direct hit, but it's ugly all the same.

94 dead in Philippine typhoon

Millions without power as Philippines searches for typhoon dead

Chaos after the storm



Chris and Yolanda live in Olongapo, which is a little west of Manila on this map above.

Detroit? No thanks I feel much, much safer here in Olongapo City.

On the plus side we don't have tornadoes or hail storms, to top that off no snow. What more could you ask for?

That's like So. CA, though there are occasional hail storms near the San Bernardino mountains. Decades pass between times when hail falls near the coast.

Earthquakes aren't all that bad compared to hurricanes and tornadoes, IMO. The structure around you may collapse (in the worst-case scenario) but all possessions are with you in the rubble if you've survived and inclement weather doesn't accompany the shaking.

Hmmm. It's been awhile since anything shook here. I think we're overdue.

"Be careful what you ask for ..."

That was more of an observation than a request. I've lived in this area for more than 50 years and there's ALWAYS another earthquake ahead.

Sorry, Rose. I didn't mean to be glib.

Reviewing the articles that Chris pointed toward earlier are a reminder to myself that in Montreal, we are relatively immune to nature's more destructive influences. The worst we had recently was the freezing rain "ice storm" of '98, but that doesn't compare to having a volcano erupt on the same day as a typhoon hitting the same area.

It certainly is a reminder to us all that we aren't safe anywhere in the world.

Peace!

I didn't see it that way at all, Ximinez. Please don't give it another thought.


Feeling safe is just a combination of self-delusion and the good luck not to have had the unthinkable 'strike home' yet.

The good part is there's no point to worrying about unforeseeable potential tragedies that may not ever occur!