CONTRIBUTED BY KANDY
Last July, Okinawa experienced Typhoon Man-Yi, which was the worst typhoon to hit Japan for more than 50 years.
The season is upon us already, so let's talk readiness!
We would love to hear your tips and experiences.
How did you entertain the kiddies? Were you snuggled together singing Koombaya? Or did you eat ice cream for breakfast after the power went out? Where do you let the dog out to pee?? What sites do you use to follow the storm? Here are a few:
TCCOR defined. This site reminds you what to do. And this one helps you to follow the typhoon.
REQUEST FOR PICTURES! REQUEST FOR PICTURES!
Next week, I'm doing a government furniture post for people PCSing to Okinawa. Please send me pictures of your government furniture!
During typhoon season, I check http://www.supertyphoon.com almost daily.
My only tip is to make sure that you (or your lazy husband) actually bring in items from outside. Some one’s trampoline hit my husband’s car during Man-Yi (thanks to whoever it belonged to
)and we lost most of our trash cans.
Sandbags are a MUST!
Also … when they call off the conditions allowing you to bring your patio furniture back out – make sure another typhoon isn’t in the works!
The Xchange has books for inside activities to do with kids. Games, reading, and other crafts.
Keep Typhoon food on hand. Last year I had to do my shopping both times the typhoons hit and the commissary was a mess! We watched movies on the laptop and portable dvd last year. So keeps those batteries charged. Also board games are a must.
What do you all have in your typhoon box food wise? We are new to all of this and I have read the basic lists but I wanted to know what real people kept on hand. Thanks!
We just found our typhoon box with all sorts of expired canned goods. We made it when we arrived here and then forgot about it. Glad we never had to actually eat all that old food!
I am not sure that the Air Force is giving people Government furniture anymore (i.e. couches, beds, etc.) I THINK (please, don’t quote me) that they lifted the weight restrictions (so you can bring almost all of your furniture from the states). Has anyone else heard about this? But, I would still be more than happy to take a snapshot of my Gov. couch and coffee table.
This might help:
http://www.kadena.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123089824
I use this link:
http://tsr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/
You can subscribe to e-mail alerts. That comes in handy and you don’t have to check every day.
Daniela
This is my favorite storm tracker linkie:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic2/#
Charge your cell phones. Likelihood is you don’t have a corded phone in the house, so if the power’s out – you have no phone. That’s at least some entertainment during the storm. And charge up your Nintendo DS, PSP, Game Boy, iPod – whatever for the kiddos and yourself.
(as heidi said – you do not want to even be in the parking lot of the commissary/px/bx when one is coming, so make this collection ASAP)
Make a typhoon area in your home with
-emergency candles
-bottled water. lots of it.
-batteries (for everything)
-battery-powered radio
-flashlights
-canned food & non-perishables. be realistic. i’ve never heard of people being stuck inside for more than a day and a half or something, you don’t need to buy enough spam to last a week! But i like the excuse to buy munchie foods.
-hurricanes are LOUD and scary for small ones. our daughter slept in our room on an air mattress because it was so loud in her room, so have some camping gear around
-if one’s coming, make a bunch of ice & put it in a cooler. It’s HOT here and when the power goes out and there’s no A/C, it’s nice to have some ice and ice-cold drinks.
-yes, as was said – secure your items. my friend had a scuba tank fly into the back of her car last year!
-maybe a few buckets. if you’re new here, you may just learn that your roof has a leak or two. and rags. many friends of mine had water rush in through sliding doors and/or windows.
about the furniture, I think that the airforce has lifted the weight limit, but the marine corps definately STILL has it and I think the navy and the army too so gov. furniture should still be available to the rest of us.
Thanks for the weather links I never EVER watch the news and didn’t have any good ones
I have not heard anything about the Army lifting their weight restrictions. I am hoping that if they did since our transportation brief, they would have called or emailed us to let us know. It is hard work figuring out what to bring and what to store!
Here are two links I use to check for typhoons… http://www.accuweather.com/mt-news-blogs.asp?partner=accuweather&blog=andrews
His dad used to work at Kadena so he follows the weather here pretty closely and he will actually answer emails which I guess is why I like him so much.
and here…
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=DNA
I keep 3 gallons of water in the house starting with the beginning of typhoon season (I drink it at the end of the season since the bottles will degrade and start to leak if you try to keep them). I already have lots of candles because I like candles and I have plenty of batteries for flashlights. I don’t go anywhere near the commissary if a typhoon is coming, I just use the off base stores.
I live off base and have never lost water or power in the 5 years I have been here. We might lose AFN on occasion but we have Japanese channels to watch and plenty of DVDs. We cargo strap down most things in our yard before a typhoon comes but mostly watch what our Oki neighbors do rather than listen to the TCCOR warnings since they have been through lots more typhoons than we have.
WE STAY OUT OF THE OCEAN during a typhoon….amazingly enough, this one seems to be a hard one for some people to grasp.
I use Supertyphoon.com and the JTWC sites to track our typhoons and download cool pics of them.
BTW, I have been told that the Air Force (here at least) will continue to provide furniture (probably even to Air Force personnel) due to the fact that there are three other services with limits on weight that are supported by their furniture warehouses. No worries there at least for the next 5 years.
Just wanted to add a typhoon web site I found
http://www.hurricanealley.net/nwp.html
I think http://www.typhoon2000.com is the best website for Okinawa.
Here is my reason: They link about 6 national weather agencies for each typhoon.
This means you can compare each forcast and hopefully you can get a good idea of where the typhoon is going.
Also, those brilliant folks at the joint typoon warning center only update every 6 hours.
This can be very annoying when you think the the storm has passed, but you are just in the eye!
Thanks, Tim
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/
This is the site we use for typhoons. Sorry I don’t know how to link it
Foam earplugs from the 100 yen stores – a must if the howling wind keeps you from getting some sleep during a typhoon.
The moisture absorbers from Makeman (also from 100 yen store) or DampRid from the BX are great if you lose power and want to minimize the moisture in the house and avoid mold. The ones from Makeman come in packs of 3 plastic jars for about 199 yen. It absorbs the moisture in the air. I have them all over the house all the time (even when it’s not typhoon season).
I’m still curious to know…where does your dog pee during a typhoon? Our dog hasn’t been in a typhoon yet.
EM I was thinking the same thing! Ours is still a puppy so we can use puppy pads for the season anyway.
When my husband and I lived in Okinawa, I remembered being so freaked out by the dreaded Typhoons. Then they came and we realized they were never much more than a really windy rainstorm where we had to stay inside. We lived off-base where our power never went out. If it did at some point, it was probably only for a few minutes at a time because I can’t recall an extended amount of time that it happened. Anyhoo, preparedness is still a must. If you have small kids/babies- make sure you have all the necessities for them- formula, diapers, wipes, bottled water (just in case, or if you live on base where their water seemed to be regularly undrinkable). Get some canned food, flashlights/lanterns with batteries would be good as well. But the biggest tip is… DON’T GET THESE THINGS RIGHT BEFORE THE TYPHOON HITS! The commissaries are packed full and get sold out of lots of items. If you just keep a plastic box in your house with these items, you’ll be ok. But if you’re running out with the rest of the American population on Island, you know.. the second before we go into TC-1E or whatever it is.. well, then, expect lines and lots of things sold out!
Will the typhoon actually affect us in any way? This is our 1st typhoon. So i am a little concerned.Are there any special things that i should do? AMy help/advice would be great!
I am sure it will not have a drastic affect. We went through Typhoon Man-Yi last summer (Cat. 4) and we didn’t even lose power ( I think Kadena did in some areas). I was howling like crazy though (we live in the towers on Camp Foster). This place is built to withstand typhoons, it isn’t like the US during hurricanes.
Depending on where you live, you could lose power. So to be on the safe side, update your typhoon kit and get some extra water. We lost power for 16 hours during Man-Yi. Be sure to clear off your balcony/patio for sure.
Oh, yeah silly me. Like Kandy said you must update your typhoon kit. You never know. Like her, she lost power and we didn’t so you just always want to be on the safe side and please make that commissary run early
Thanks, We live on Kadena.I am so glad that i went grocery shopping yesterday because it was a mad house in the parking lot at the BX. i needed some flashlights.
O.K. another question what exactly should i put in our typhoon kit besides the usual bandages and etc. I know that i am supposed to fill up the bathtub.
I would just put non-perishable foods that you could eat if the power went out for a long time. (Although we resort to eating stuff from the freezer ie icecream for breakfast etc when the power goes out. And the kids think its neat.)
Check out this website for a great list for your typhoon kit:
http://www.cfao.navy.mil/n5/DISASTERHANDOUT.swf
I find the difference between Americans and the locals amusing. The Commissary and BX are already swamped, but our neighbors (we live in an entirely Japanese neighborhood, minus us) are like, “Meh, whatever”. lol
I ended up buying extra bottled water today at Lawson because I didn’t want to fistfight people for it at the BX.
I like to keep plastic spoons, paper plates, and a can opener in ours (along with everthing else). I went to the commissary today and there was no parking and no water. I don’t know what I was even thinking LOL!
Wow Hollie, I was just there yesterday on Foster and the parking lot was kinda empty. I was able to get what I needed without any problems. We just got here this summer so I still had my hurricane kit minus the food and water. Just need to gas up and get some cash. I took out some yen yesterday. Oh and also need to put away the patio stuff. My shed will be stuffed.
I guess once we went into TC-3, the commissary got packed. It was around 3:30pm. I was hoping they would put more water on the shelves too. Like a pp said, they tend react quickly when TC conditions change unlike off base. I gased up too
, I forgot to do that last summer, well actually never even thought about it. Oh, good idea about the ATM…. I never even though about money…in case power went out and I couldn’t get cash. Thanks for that tip 
I like how we can always learn from each other.
I am hearing that Sinlaku has slowed down out at sea. The TCCOR remain at 3. Something about it stalling and becoming erratic mover. Now they are saying monday morning with rain all weekend. I just read this from channel 14. DOD schools, commissary, and exchange remain regular hours. http://kadenaservices.com/weather.html