There has been a tropical depression blowing north of here for several days. The distant storm has brought us torrential rains and welcomed cooler temperatures. This morning I ran into the grocery store and immediately I was struck by how quiet the store was, no blaring music and no customer chitchat. Suddenly, I realized that everyone was attentively listening to a man’s radio voice over the intercom giving the weather news – and then he said it, our province was under a hurricane warning and the full storm should hit us tonight. As Gary and I drove home, the signs of people preparing for a big storm became evident. One obvious sign was the small inter-island cargo ships had already left the wharf and were anchored in the shelter of Iriki island in the Vila bay.
At this point, all we can do is stock up on batteries for the radio, drinking water and canned foods. We do not have to put up any storm windows because our house has automatic roll-down storm blinds. Vanuatu is situated in “hurricane alley” and during this season, we can expect several hurricanes. We will keep you posted as Hurricane Funa is set to hit us this evening!
Vision for Vanuatu 