It's Coming....

I am scared. There is a big storm heading towards Guam. I've never been through anything like this before. We are just waiting for it to hit us and just sitting here waiting is not a fun thing.

Tropical Depression: winds less than 38 mph
Tropical Storm: winds between 39-73 mph
Typhoon: winds over 74 mph
Super Typhoon: winds over 150 mph

Over here in the pacific, we get typhoons. They are just like hurricanes. Yesterday we were informed that Tropical Depression 18W has formed and was gaining speed. It was heading straight towards Guam and would most likely become a Tropical Storm by the time it directly hit us Tuesday evening. Luckily, it slowed down and moved south yesterday afternoon and now will actually hit just south of Guam. This is great news!

As of this morning (it is 9am Tuesday right now) 18W is 625 miles east, southeast of Guam. Damaging winds will most likely hit us starting around 5am Thurs. Since it will hit south of us, we will most likely just encounter a Tropical Depression on Thursday, however a Topical Storm watch is still in effect for Guam at this time. Hopefully it won't be too damaging. However, the speed of the storm can change at any time, so we still need to prepare for the worst.

One problem with these storms is that it affects the power and water. Losing power is a very common thing here and we actually lose it during almost every thunderstorm. However, losing power means losing internet access and phone (we have digital phone), which then means, we lose all communication to all of you who are stateside. I do not like that! I have been stocking up on water and non-perishable food ever since we got back to the island in May. But I keep asking myself, do we have enough?? I can't seem to answer that question. And this is one of the reasons why....

...There is another storm following behind Tropical Depression 18W and possibly another storm (yes, that's #3) behind that one. Since this first storm won't be too damaging (hopefully), I am pretty sure we can survive that; even if we were out of power for a few days or so. But what happens when this next storm hits. The next one has yet to be named, but has been rumored to be much more intense than 18W. Will we have enough to get us through another major hit? Because you know we won't have a chance to restock after each storm, especially since we live on a island and there are limited supply of everything to begin with. And sometimes the power and/or water can be out for weeks. The next storm is projected to hit us Sat morning.

I just feel have that motherly instinct to protect my family, and I am worried that I won't be prepared enough to do that. We have food, water, gas in our vehicles, flashlights, batteries, hurricane lamps, candles, clean clothes, clean towels, clean dishes, toilet paper, paper products (plates and stuff), clean bath tubs to fill with water before the storm hits, charged electronics, etc. I've gone over the list several times and I think we are prepared in that aspect. But this is still a scary thing.

Matt just sent me this link: http://www.goes.noaa.gov/guam/guamloops/guamir.html If you want to see satellite images of the storms. I'm going to try to keep you all updated with this information as it comes to us. Please remember all of us here on Guam in your prayers :)