Fix Perspective

Heavy Rains In Hanoi As Haiyan Approaches

Typhoon Haiyan. Images from NOAA.
 Chi Le
Reporter
HANOI, Vietnam – It’s pouring hard outside of my window.
Part of me is relieved schools are closed tomorrow because of the storm. Another part is worried about my parents and my brother, who still have to get to work despite the ominous weather.
Typhoon Haiyan, also known as Storm Signal No. 4, is striking the northern part of Vietnam in the next 12 hours and predictions say rains will get heavier throughout the night, with stronger winds and possible flooding in many locations.
In my country, storms and floods are familiar despite how catastrophic they can become. But the thought of the “the deadliest storm in history” coming toward the homes of innocent people is never an easy one.
The national news has been showing the damage the storm did to the Philippines — where more than 10,000 are feared dead and cities leveled.
Should I be optimistic enough to trust the weather forecast, the speed of the typhoon will decrease greatly as it approaches Vietnam and hopefully with much less or up to no loss of human life.
I know that the rain outside is unlikely to let up even when I’m sound asleep. And while I’m dozing, just as any other ordinary night, many people will have to hide in shelters, to leave their homes and  businesses behind to evade the storm.
Tomorrow will be a little different as my thoughts will be directed towards wishing my family safety in traversing the urban rivers to get to their offices.
Disasters are the rage of Mother Nature, from which we find no way to hide.
This time, Vietnam and the Philippines are among the unlucky few suffering through the typhoon.
But countless others have happened and many more are bound to occur in the years ahead.
Disturbing and helpless as it may seem, the best measure we can take is to minimize the consequences by effective prevention.