Typhoon Morakot

Today (Friday) was an unexpected (and unwelcome) day off thanks to the appearance of Typhoon Morakot. While Taiwan's reservoirs certainly need the water the typhoon will dump in them, typhoon days usually mean staying cooped up at home in a sweaty environment, as windows have to be shut due to the rain and wind. In our area, the winds starting picking up yesterday evening, and have remained strong ever since. In fact, while I was out getting a newspaper from a local convenience store this morning, a woman had to hold on tight to her small son to prevent him from being blown away (two men came to their assistance, moving them to a covered sidewalk). Fortunately, except for a lot of potted plants that have been blown over, there has been very little damage in the neighborhood (so far). During a "lull", I went up to the rooftop of our apartment building and took this video. Despite the relative calmness while I was up there, I still had to hold on tightly to both the camera and my glasses!