Typhoon Maysak looks to be bearing down on Okinawa, and we're just starting to feel the winds start to rise. We are of course right in the middle of Typhoon season and thus far this year it's been a very mild year for storms. Unlike last year where it seemed we had a storm every damned weekend! Typhoon Maysak though it seems wants to remind us just how damaging these storms can be. We've even recently had the governor of Okinawa make a TV statement warning locals to be prepared and vigilant, which is something he seldom does. Could we be in for a whoopin? What does he know that we don't?

Typhoon Maysak sitting just below us, Naha being the main city on Okinawa. Strange too that the data imprint of this file is 666.5kb. Is this storm gonna be a devil, and a half?

The above screen shot was taken from the Windy App which many folks use here to check on Typhoon tracks etc. Weird that the data size of the image is shown as 666.5. Could that be that this storm will turn out to be a devil and a half or half a devil? I guess time will tell.

She's picking up steam!

Thus far I've been doing my standard preparations. I tend to tape up all of the seals around the windows, on the exterior as the strong winds will drive water up and under the window seals, any doors that are facing the prevailing winds and also through the letterboxes. The bathtub is filled and the freezer set to super cold. This way if there is a power outage we can keep certain food items frozen for longer. We also have a cooler ready with ice should we need to transfer food items into that once the freezer is no longer effective. Anything that may be loose on the verandah is tied down or stowed away. I think we're good!

I get this sneaking feeling that Typhoons seem to be following me around! The last one of any size here in Okinawa was TRAMI about two years ago. My biggest typhoon experience came in 2004 though when I was living and working on the tiny Micronesian Island of Yap. After a day of prepping nothing could have even remotely suggested we were gonna get as trounced as Typhoon SUDAL trounced us. I was the only guy in the village with a concrete house, renting it from a local businessman. By the end of the storm I had my bathroom full of old ladies and family members who's homes had blown away in the storm. But that, as they say, is another story!

"Typhoon damage happens when they hit land, and as humans, we've decided to destroy mangroves and hurt coral reefs. If we don't have barriers, the devastation is worse, and that is scary".

Ashlan Gorse Cousteau