Ridin' the Storm Out

Chris’ Cyclone Survival Guide

(Note: most natural disaster preparedness guides focus on safety issues and common sense [is there such a thing?] procedures. This is NOT one of those guides)

Well once again I have gone a while without a proper blog entry. I have been working on a variety of things recently, including a video for our rice project (which you may be able to view in March-ish), but not much that seemed “blog-worthy.” And then over the weekend came a cyclone[1] warning. This cyclone, Cyclone Bingiza, touched down on Madagascar soil today and will probably be bringing heavy rains and winds to our area for the next day or so.

Thus, I thought I would offer some of my personal strategies for Cyclones, in the format of “Do’s and Don’ts”

Cyclone Do’s:

1) Do put out all of your buckets for delicious, clean rainwater

2) a- Non-Electricity version: Do read that incredibly long book you have been saving by candlelight (some PCVs' examples: War and Peace, Count of Monte Cristo, Brothers Karamazov, Harry Potter heptalogy…)

2) b – Electricity version: Do watch an awesome movie trilogy. My available choices: Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Bourne trilogy, and Batman trilogy (which consists of Batman Begins, the Dark Knight, and the Dark Knight with special Ben Nemeth commentary in which he says all the lines)

3) Finally work on that secondary project you keep putting off, such as translating Lord of the Rings into Malagasy. Say, how do we feel about using “mpitsymaty” for “ring-wraiths”? or Randrianagandalf?

4) Do take advantage of lulls in the storm to take a quick walk around or visit friends, so you do not go stir-crazy. And to replenish supplies (Seadap – like ramen except awesome-er) But beware of the eye of the storm, of course…

5) Do take necessary precautions, such as covering up all glass windows.

6) Since you have no glass windows (and since your windows are already “boarded up”), do use the time you would have spent on number 5 writing a blog entry.

Cyclone Don’ts:

1) Don’t bring all of your pots and buckets outside to collect rainwater – you will still need some to catch water from all of the holes in your roof

2) Don’t drink the water from inside your house (rat and bat droppings can be dangerous!)

3) Don’t jinx yourself by talking about the electricity you will use to watch entertaining movies, unless you really want to lose said electricity and spend the next day(s) rereading old Peace Corps newsletters by candlelight.

4) Don’t wait for everyone to leave the office, put your backpack on, then your raincoat over it and you. You will likely find that you cannot close your jacket, so you will need to take it off. Except that you cannot, as your arms are stuck in it and you will waddle around like a penguin as you futilely try to extricate yourself. This may take up to 20 minutes.

5) Don’t admit to number 4 on a publicly-shared internet blog.

6) Don’t joke about cyclones until after they are over. Oops…

Be safe everyone!

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[1] A Cyclone is the same as a hurricane, except that it originates in the Indian Ocean. A quick nomenclature guide: Pacific Ocean = Typhoon, Atlantic Ocean = Hurricane, Indian Ocean = Cyclone (actually, I think all are technically "cyclones"). Also, because of Madagascar island nature, cyclone prediction is especially difficult. They can go north or south along the east coast, cut across the island, regain strength on the west coast and even come back across to the east. No one ever knows what to expect from a cyclone in Madagascar.