Giovanna prep

I'm surprisingly back in Tana after about 2 days away. I left on Friday to go to my VAC meeting with the 8 other volunteers in my region. We spent the weekend in Moramanga (3 hrs away) and hung out, ate some good food, and sang karaoke. But on Sunday, when we were supposed to be going back to site we got a nice little update from our security officer saying that we should not go back to site because of cyclone Giovanna which is conveniently heading straight to Tsarasambo. When I asked the PC security guy if I was going to have a house after this...he just laughed. And then asked if I lived in a sturdy house. I'm not sure how sturdy sticks and leaves are...but I don't think thats what he had in mind.

So I'm back in Tana with most of my region. Its fun to be preparing for the storm with friends, but I'm a little concerned about my house which I didn't have anytime to pack up or make cyclone prep. But most of us are in the same position...houses made of sticks, right on the coast, right where the cyclone is heading.

So now I have wifi and can spend hours on end staring at the satellite picture of pending doom.

 

So the cyclone is about the size of the country...and its heading straight to my house. And all the articles I've read say its going to be worse than the worst cyclone that has ever hit here. And that everyone needs to be self-sufficient for at least a week. And last bad cyclone it knocked out 40,000 houses and  destroyed 80% of the Tamatave port. And this might be worse. So thats what is going on in my life. 

So I'm in a concrete house in Tana, which is safer than my stick hut on the coast. But there will probably still be torrential rain and winds. Yikes. The other volunteers and I are going to go eat bagels for breakfast just in case we can't do that after this cyclone. And then we're going to stock up on candles, food, and other supplies....It should be interesting to say the least.