Fuddland
Well what let-down that was! After the warnings, the evacuations, the class-cancellations [so not all bad news], what did we get here in Suzhou? The equivalent of an average rainy day in the west of Ireland. In the end, the typhoon travelled a lot further inland than initially predicted, and its windspeeds dropped to that of a child blowing the seeds off a dandelion clock.
Unfortunately other parts of China did not get off so lightly, with landslides claiming at least five lives, thousands of homes wrecked, and disruptions of power supplies in areas further south of here, plus the evacuation of around 2.7 million people in the Shanghai area. [To where were they evacuated? No one seems to be saying.]
Still, at least now I know what the difference is between a hurricane and a typhoon: the former originate in the Atlantic, the latter in the Pacific; typhoons tend to be stronger due to the warmer Pacific air, but aside from that there’s not much to distinguish the two. The difference between these two types of low-pressure system and a cyclone is left as an exercise for the reader. [For a bonus, mildly-amusing pub-factoid, you may also want to find out what a “willy-willy” is to our Australian brethren, although I’d be careful how you search for that term.]
Comments
Thane | 2007 / 09 / 22 – 19:55
Sounds to me like you’re fishing for an explanation there, mate…
Sadly, this isn’t it. Willy-willies shall remain a mystery of the great Never Never forever ever…
Penny | 2007 / 09 / 27 – 19:42
Hey! I was doing some research for my chinese hw and found your blog. Quite a nice site:) I live in Singapore but have never been to mainland China so the pictures are great!
Helena | 2007 / 10 / 15 – 23:02
It’s in times like these, that make me appreciate that I live in shitty little Scotland. Doesn’t put me off wanting to visit China, however…..!
Commenting Closed
Commenting on this post is closed. Thanks to all those who left comments. If you'd still like to say something about this entry, feel free to email me.
