From where I sat I could see where the Tonle Sap River joins the Mekong. During the rainy season the mighty Mekong receives so much rain that it forces the Tonle Sap to change direction.
When I was here five weeks ago the river was at this level and flowing away from the camera.
On my last visit the river was much higher and flowing towards the camera.
Typhoons have been crushing Southeast Asia for the past few weeks. Even Nepal, which is far from any ocean, has felt the brunt. I was reading in the Kathmandu Post of a village in the western part of the country that was swept away by a flood. Over 70 homes, school, shops -- gone.
Last week Typhoon Ketsana dropped a month's worth of rain on Manila in one day. The Phillipines is hit by about 20 typhoons and major storms each year but was not prepared for 16 inches of rain in one day. (Maryland gets about 40 inches of rain per year.)
Relief efforts are being hindered by yet another typhoon, Parma followed quickly on Ketsana's heels, with Melor right behind.
Ketsana moved onto the mainland and smashed into central Vietnam. Hundreds died and hundreds of thousands were left homeless in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.
In the US we tend to equate typhoon season with hurricane season. Even though there are storms like Katrina and Andrew that cause damage on a biblical scale, typhoon season is worse. The frequency of storms is greater, and the islands and coastal areas where they hit are densely populated.
In August Typhoon Morakot killed 770 in Taiwan, a "modern" country. The effect on poor, rural areas is even worse. Laos is the most primitive country I've ever traveled in, and I don't mean that in a condescending way. Even on the "tourist trail" I passed through communities with no electricity where people live in thatch huts. It's a level of poverty that simply does not exist in the US.
In these areas people have no warning, and even if they do, they have nowhere to go. Relief agencies are overwhelmed dealing with disaster areas in the Phillipines, Indonesia and mainland Southeast Asia. If you are asked to donate, please do.
Posts
