it’s storming
05/01/2008
A couple of days ago they started reporting that a series of storms were headed our way, and that residents of the North Bay should get ready – start stocking up on provisions, get sandbags, secure loose bits around the house. They also recommended that residents up in the more rural areas should get flashlights, and bring their chainsaws around. And the Coast Guards put up advisories against heading to the beach.
Yesterday the first storm kicked in and I saw pictures on TV where in the mountains, cars were overturned and snow was everywhere. It’s snowing even in Mexico. They said it was really dangerous to drive up to the Sierras.
I don’t know, something about that seems so distant and rural. Yeah, the Santa Cruz Mountains. Yeah, the Sierra. It’s not here. It’s someplace else.
And this morning, the big storm hit. The power at home went out. So even though my brand new spanky alarm clock was on battery power and was running fine, I got up late because it was all dark outside and I had my earplugs on. Had I not have had my earplugs on, I would’ve heard the ruckus from the wind and the fire trucks outside.
Driving down Fulton it felt like a warzone. Debris was everywhere, and trees were blown over.
Ferry services have been temporarily suspended due to the massive waves. The Bart has stopped running in some areas. Parts of the city are flooded.
I know that it’s a large country and that we don’t really experience super extreme weather back at home and so it’s not fair to compare. But power and transportation outages are so not First World.
So it’s miserable now – wet, dark and sad. The storms are supposed to subside over the weekend. Hopefully I’ll see some sunshine soon.
