Super Typhoon heading my way

We've been hearing news about it here in hong kong. Looks to be a real nasty one. Stay safe!

ensure you are safe made !

All the best to every one there.

Hope you manage to get some good photos. Without taking too many risks

Blimey. Keep your head down.

I wish you all the best Sniper.Take care.

All the best Sniper. Stay safe!

Get to high ground!  News services are reporting that this is the strongest storm ever recorded...

"Super Typhoon Haiyan made morning landfall at Guiuan, a small city in Samar province in the eastern Philippines. The U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said maximum sustained winds were 195 mph, with gusts to 235 mph."

Satellite images are frightful. Hope for the best.

Sniper,

Hopefully the storm will just bark and not bite. Take courageous pictures and keep everybody on the islands safe.

Take care and make sure you're all safe.

Well that was fun. We all survived (including 7 neighbours who sought sanctuary in the room above the garage) and various friends who we stuffed into our guest room. The garden was trashed. Some minor damage to windows and roof and the garage door was ripped off its hinges. I have yet to inspect the sea wall. Some beautiful fan palms have been severely damaged and the swimming pool is a swamp of leaves. 

I took some pics in the morning - the sea was rougher that we have ever seen it but visibility was good. 2 hours before the storm proper the sea was so white with foam it looked like the arctic and the wind ripped off my protective motorbike helmet - visibility was down to 100meters . 30 mins before the worst of it and it was just too dangerous to risk more than a couple of quick shots - the visibility was down to about 40 metres and it was dark despite being about 3.30pm here. It was impossible to hold the camera steady and I had trouble even standing up - the sand in the wind was flaying me alive and the buffeting from the wind was vicious. I looked over my shoudlers to watch an enormous wave and I felt like someone had poked me in the eye with a fat finger the wind was so strong. Like a wimp I went back into the safety of the house. 

So is everyone else OK in general?

No idea as of now. We have not heard any local news and we have only just had our internet connection restored. I'm sure the news will be grim. 

Good to hear that you got through it ok. News reports over here were horrendous.

Glad you are all ok

Stay safe

Great you are safe Sniper and wonderful you are doing your part to help others. Best Wishes.

Imagine you are sitting in an old decrepit mini for your first machine car wash and the car wash machine is in a wind tunnel and you will get an idea of what it is like. The wind break we use at this time of the year which consists of incredibly thick bamboo posts and thick nylon screen  (bamboo is used as scaffolding in Asia as it has a kilo for kilo higher tensile strength than steel) was trashed 3 hours before the storm proper arrived. Just when we thought we were experiencing the full might of the wind it found another gear and another. We sat inside watching as various neighbours lost their roofs but in the end we could not see anything further than a few metres away - you see nothing but the noise is deafening and the rain driven by such strong winds gets in by the bucket load. After awhile you lose your nerve and get as far from the windows as the house allows. 

30-45 mins before the peak of the storm

2 hours before the storm proper 

2 hours before 

Several hours before the storm 

Power and t'interweb are up though!

Well done mate

Glad to hear that you got through OK Sniper. From the reports, it sounded horrendous.

That must have been very frightening for your family. I can't believe you didn't have more structural damage to the house. Those winds were reported to be up to 200mph! Unimaginable. I hope none of that driving sand made it's way into your camera.

Good luck to you and yours with clearing up the mess.