Ferries, bus and train services shut down. The port stays closed and flights are cancelled. Schools tell their pupils to stay home and all commuters rush back into the safety of their homes. Most significantly, the Hong Kong stock exchange closes as well. This is a time when staying in and taking shelter precedes everything else, even making money!
 |
| Typhoon Vincente |
The people of Hong Kong are a savvy lot. They understand about timing. They know that when the Dragon frolics, it is best to stay indoors and to shutter up the windows and keep their doors firmly shut. The month of August is always an especially vulnerable time since it is also typhoon season time, so here we see the Dragon flying through a city for whose people the energies of wind and water hold no fear.
Even transient residents, the expatriates whose work and business bring them to this auspicious and highly commercial city, understand the large influence of feng shui. They too stay indoors until the danger has passed, and in time, they learn about the underlying power of the Dragon, China's most precious symbol of destiny and fortune.
But the older residents, those who understand the wisdom of cycles and respect the forces of nature, are the ones who will smile with delight, for with the Water Dragon rising in such a ferocious manner there will come creative new forces that bring new abundance in the coming months and years. This is especially true when the typhoon itself does not hit the city directly but comes enough for its wind energy to pervade the city.
In China, the Water Dragon brought the worst rainstorms to hit Beijing in more than 60 years. This was a fierce Dragon, for the rains killed over 30 people and caused chaos to the city residents. Urban infrastructure such as drains and a lack of timely warning systems in the Chinese capital caused those unlucky enough to be outdoors when the rains came to suffer acutely. Some lost their lives as the worst deluge since 1951 caused the waters to swell in parts of the city and cause unrelenting floods. Several roads were submerged in almost 3ft of water.
Even the Beijing-Guangdong highway, a major arterial road, remained underwater for several days. Bus, trains and flights were cancelled. People movement was forced to a standstill. The flood disaster of Beijing continued well into August, posing a danger to the city of Shanghai and its coastal provinces of Zhejiang. This time, the authorities did not hesitate and began the evacuation of at least half a million residents from these regions and transferred them to safe shelters.
This is what happens when the Water Dragon rises, which when it flies upwards, unleashes water that is both celestial and torrential. Likewise, the winds generated also escalate in ferocity reaching incredibly high speeds. The typhoon winds reached 150 km per hour.
In the case of Shanghai, the city was forewarned, because the typhoons that brought the danger had by the time it reached China's eastern shores already unleashed heavy flooding, and the core of its ferocity onto the lands of the Philippines. Nevertheless 30,000 ships were rushed to take shelter as more typhoons continued to come following Typhoon Haikui.
Across the seas in the Philippines Typhoon Haikui brought so much water that half of the metropolitan city of Manila was submerged. Here the Water Dragon brought such heavy flooding that everything came to an immediate standstill. Everywhere, those caught in the fast rising waters saw levels reach up to their waists.
This is the worst flooding since 2009 when hundreds died in the rampaging flash floods. The nightmare storm lasted several days and transformed Manila into a water city. The aftermath of rains and floods in the Philippines always brings danger of landslides especially in the provinces. Hopefully, appeasing the Water Dragon should be sufficient for the Earth Dragons not to get involved. To find out more, you can check out Typhoon Vincente.