Ahoy from Amoy (historic Xiamen)
We were just whacked head-on in Xiamen with Typhoon Meranti, which with 40 foot waves and 230 mph winds was the worst we've seen in our 28 years here (and neighbors in their 80s have not seen worse either)....
The sheer devastation is unimaginable. It may be days before we can drive because toppled trees cover the road to our mountainside apartment. Fortunately, few were killed. One man was electrocuted riding an electric bike through a flooded street. Sad--but it seems he may have been a candidate for the Darwin Award.
The official response was incredibly fast. We lost electricity twice, but the first time it was restored within ten minutes and the second time an hour--though we were out of water much longer. The entire city was without water yesterday (and some still lack electricity and water even today).
We're thankful our old apartment fared well. Though skyscrapers and modern buildings were devastated, our old place got little more than a soaking (even though one third is covered with corrugated iron sheets). And our car was fine, though it was surrounded by toppled trees. Other cars did not fare so well, as you can see from the photos. Airplanes were blown about like toothpicks.
A few months ago, I gave Xiamen Airlines a new slogan, "New Horizons With Xiamen Airlines." None of us could have anticipated this particular new horizon!
So sad to see countless giant trees toppled--especially the beautiful banyan trees. But the rain had barely stopped before workers and police were out working with chain saws to clear things up. In another month, Amoy will be as beautiful as ever. Nothing keeps Amoy folks down for long!
Enjoy Amoy,
Dr. Bill Brown
Academic Director, XMU OneMBA
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com
We were just whacked head-on in Xiamen with Typhoon Meranti, which with 40 foot waves and 230 mph winds was the worst we've seen in our 28 years here (and neighbors in their 80s have not seen worse either)....
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| Typhoon Meranti Xiamen Photos |
The sheer devastation is unimaginable. It may be days before we can drive because toppled trees cover the road to our mountainside apartment. Fortunately, few were killed. One man was electrocuted riding an electric bike through a flooded street. Sad--but it seems he may have been a candidate for the Darwin Award.
The official response was incredibly fast. We lost electricity twice, but the first time it was restored within ten minutes and the second time an hour--though we were out of water much longer. The entire city was without water yesterday (and some still lack electricity and water even today).
We're thankful our old apartment fared well. Though skyscrapers and modern buildings were devastated, our old place got little more than a soaking (even though one third is covered with corrugated iron sheets). And our car was fine, though it was surrounded by toppled trees. Other cars did not fare so well, as you can see from the photos. Airplanes were blown about like toothpicks.
A few months ago, I gave Xiamen Airlines a new slogan, "New Horizons With Xiamen Airlines." None of us could have anticipated this particular new horizon!
So sad to see countless giant trees toppled--especially the beautiful banyan trees. But the rain had barely stopped before workers and police were out working with chain saws to clear things up. In another month, Amoy will be as beautiful as ever. Nothing keeps Amoy folks down for long!
Enjoy Amoy,
Dr. Bill Brown
Academic Director, XMU OneMBA
School of Management, Xiamen University
Amazon eBook "Discover Xiamen"
www.amoymagic.comAmazon eBook "Discover Xiamen"
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com
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