Calvin’s Hub

Crazy times we have right now as calamities are striking everywhere one after the other.

Typhoon Ketsana in Southeast Asia

First there was Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) which struck Philippines last Saturday dropping a record-breaking amount of rainfall in a short span. Filipinos were surprised with the damage it caused despite being a weak typhoon. It left the Philippines with the worst flood in four decades causing at least 300 deaths.

Muddy village in Rodriguez, Rizal province, Philippines after Ketsana. AP

After leaving the Philippines, it continued on wreaking havoc towards Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia causing more deaths and infrastructure damages.

Hoi An's landmark Japanese Bridge in flooded water in Hoi An, Vietnam after Ketsana. AP

Tsunami in Samoa

Then on Tuesday night while Filipinos are undergoing rescue and relief operations, a magnitude 8.0 quake struck off Samoa causing four 15 to 20 feet tsunami waves that engulfed the island.

A man searches through the rubble of a destroyed village outside Apia in Samoa on Wednesday Sept. 30, 2009. AP

The Samoas (Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga) lies halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand and the tsunamis caused by the quake literally flattened towns and claimed at least 150 lives.

Earthquakes in Indonesia

On Wednesday afternoon, a 7.6 magnitude quake rocked Padang, West Sumatra in Indonesia. The devastating quake reduced buildings to rubble, destroyed bridges, phone and electrical lines making rescue attempts difficult.

A building flattened by an earthquake in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. AP

The following day while Indonesia is still reeling from the quake, another one (6.8 magnitude) hit South Sumatra. Although no damage from the second quake has been reported yet, the first quake already killed more than 1000 people.

Typhoon Parma

Thursday afternoon, Typhoon Parma (Pepeng), a category-4 super-typhoon has entered the Philippines. It started unleashing its strong gale winds and rain in the eastern seaboard particularly in the Bicol region.

It is expected to hit Luzon tonight or tomorrow and may cause interruption to relief operations and even more damage to the still-flooded areas caused by Ondoy.

Scary shit indeed and I don’t blame people for thinking about end times. Think there’s gonna be a next calamity real soon?

Stay safe everyone.

• Let us be like the Japanese in times of calamaties
• Hard Times
• Photos: Typhoon Pedring hits Manila
• Pepeng has entered Philippine Area of Responsibility

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