The Mindulle-Drenched Look

Day 22

Trust me not to check the weather forecast before going out.

It was raining incessantly the whole of Saturday morning. By noon, the rain stopped.... I was becoming restless in my apartment. So, thinking that Mother Nature had no more rain in her, I went out shopping.

The afternoon was cloudy and cool. Perfect weather to be outdoors. All was well until late afternoon. It started to rain again. So, I decided to make a dash for home.

As I got out of the subway station, there was a huge crowd at the entrance. One group, contemplating whether to weather the storm and the other group making the best out of the situation - selling umbrellas for CNY10 (RM5).

It looked like a harmless light drizzle. So, I decided to brave the weather and walk home since there were no taxis in sight. Mid-way, the winds blew harder and harder. My umbrella upturned awkwardly 3 to 4 times. Normally, it would be an embarassing situation but everyone was facing the same predicament... so, it did not matter.

Having reached the point of no return, there was no where to go but forth. So, I persisted on.... with the umbrella upturning a few more times until I had enough of it. Folded the umbrella and walked home in the rain!

Who would have thought that I was caught in the middle of the typhoon. I hadn't been following the weather news for days. I thought the typhoon was still in The Philippines!

Excerpts for the local news:

Strong Tropical Storm Mindulle Hits Shanghai

East China's metropolis of Shanghai is being hit by No. 7 tropical storm this year, Mindulle, which landed in Zhejiang Province Saturday morning. Torrential rains and strong wind began sweeping the city at around 8 a.m., stopping people from going out for weekend traveling and shopping. An advertising board fell in the storm and hurt one person.

According to the local meteorological station, Mindulle (dandelion in Korean) landed in Zhejiang at about 9:30 AM. Till 3 PM, Shanghai's downtown districts had been struck by the wind at a gale force of 7 to 9 and parts of the city had received rainfall exceeding 100 millimeters.

The local flood control department monitored the water level in the Suzhou section of the Huangpu River had reached 4.35 meters and would probably exceed the 4.55-meter alert line to rise to 4.75 meters Saturday night.

The whole city has been on high flood alert and the local TV station has been live broadcasting the tropical storm. It would continue approaching Shanghai and bring torrential rains till Saturday midnight and begin fading away Sunday morning, according to the weather forecast.

I am grateful that I wasn't wearing a summer dress that windy day. I wouldn't want to reenact Marilyn Monroe's famous "blowing skirt" scene!


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