As some know, I am in Japan due to work.
I have been following the news from New Orleans about Katrina and since a few days ago, the Japanese TV has been warning about a HUGE typhoon bearing in on Kyushu, the island where I am.
Apparently, the typhoon is category 5, same as Katrina.
If I was back in America, I would feel quite confident to survive OK, but here I am very worried.
I have stocked up on about 5 days worth of food and water, and have done other precautions that I can, but I am still worried.

I am not sure why I am even posting this, I suppose that I am just fretting and just want to communicate with fellow Americans.
[/ramble off]
By the way, to make some use of this post, could somebody point me to a thread that I saw a few days ago that had a T-shirt that said something to the effect of ”I went looting in New Orleans and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”
Thanks in advance

Prayers offered.  Keep us posted.  Patty

No kidding?  I didn't see that on the news.

Stay Safe!

Keep us updated

Thanks a lot for the prayers.

From the Japanese side, the Japanese TV didn’t show Katrina until just before New Orleans got flooded.
My news sources were CNN and ABC from satellite TV and the trusty AR15.COM.
Here are the homepages of NHK (The main Japanese news channel) news and weather in English.
I am in the center of the bottom big island and am almost certainly going to get a direct hit

Good luck.

You need a lot more water than you think you do, most likely more food as well.

Bob

It has weakened some and is now a Cat 3.  I've been keeping track of it since there for a while it was headed toward Korea.  Stay safe.

Don't worry to much.  I've been through three Typhoons when I lived in Okinawa.  If you are in one of the japanese concrete buildings(built like tanks) then you will be just fine.  One of the Typhoons was a cat 3 with 130 mph winds.  We never lost power.  I was actually surfing the net while it was going on.  My only suggestion is stay inside even when the eye comes over.   Flying debris hurt more people in those storms than failing structures. Stay Safe

RS

Good luck man. Sounds like you have done everything you could do short of leaving the area. Do you have a portable radio, flaslight and spare batteries?

Everybody, thanks for the advice and such.
It is morning here and the eye of the typhoon is about 250 miles away.
The weather isn’t too bad, just a little rain and a slight breeze.
The Japanese English news says that
” The typhoon is packing winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour near its center.
Weather officials are warning of possible landslides due to heavy rains of up to 800 millimeters in a part of southern Kyushu. It is expected to come close to Kyushu and Shikoku on Tuesday, while maintaining its strength.
More than 3,700 households in Miyazaki in Kyushu, have been advised to evacuate because of possible floods and landslides.
About 2,100 residents in Kagoshima, Miyazaki and seven other prefectures have already evacuated voluntarily to municipal facilities.
NHK has learned that as of seven PM on Monday, four people had been injured in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Eighteen-thousand households in southern Kyushu region are without electricity.”
Well, at least work is off for today.
I've got a radio, a LED light, and went and got extra food.
Some of the bigger shops have ready made Bug out Bags that have 3 days of food, water, a radio, a flashlight, a sort of cloth helmet, a whistle, blankets and other stuff prepacked and waterproof.
I was told that that since most of western Japan is hit yearly by typhoons, almost every household has one of these just in case
I will take and post pictures if there is anything worth doing so.

Get to high ground and take care!  Patty

i don't know what kind of weapons you can get in japan but a shovel with the edge filed sharp can be good. get more water and food while you can.

Well, I have got about 2 hours until the typhoon hits me.
It is a lot calmer than I expected.
It is raining outside and the wind is strong enough to have blown over a vending machine.
The news says that

“the typhoon was passing about 30 kilometers west-south-west of Kushikino City, Kagoshima Prefecture, as of 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, and was moving at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour and is packing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour near its center.
The typhoon has also created waves measuring more than nine meters.
More than 46,000 households in Miyazaki Prefecture have been ordered to evacuate because of possible floods and landslides.
About 16,000 residents in 13 prefectures have already evacuated voluntarily to municipal facilities.
More than 180,000 households are suffering power outages.”

I will know for sure in 5 hours time, but I suspect that I might have been had by the media.

Well, the typhoon has come and gone.
There wasn't the disaster that was predicted where I was, but places about 100 miles west of where I was got a lot of damage.
About 15 dead and 100 missing.
CNN had a bit about the typhoon, and was going on about that it was bigger that  Katrina.

One thing that I can say about the Japanese people is that they follow the evacuation orders to the letter.
Maybe this, and the fact that almost all Japanese land is above the sea level led to the diffrence in human deaths.

On another note, I was chatting with my tempory neighbours and found the Sheeple of the year, if not the decade.
I will type it out tomorrow and post it.

Finaly, thanks very much for all the prayers and advice

Good to hear you are ok.

Crazy, I am glad to hear all is well.

Get some pics if you can when it is safe.