Typhoon Neoguri was recently broadcasted across every station nationally as it laid a path of destruction across the Southern Okinawa island chain and left 2 dead in its wake. Seemingly out of nowhere, Typhoon Rammasun made landfall in the Phillipines shortly after and ravaged surrounding areas. The biggest difference between the two massive storms is that Typhoon Rammasun has barely made headline news in the United States. But we should all be paying close attention to the effects that are clearly happening around the globe because quite frankly, we could be next.
Typhoon Rammasun has hardly made news, possibly because of the closeness in time to Typhoon Neoguri. Perhaps it could be because the storm will be of no real effect to the United States. But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a wakeup call in disguise. Typhoon Neoguri led to the evacuation of over 480,000 people and was reported to have winds up to 118 mph affecting those in its path. In comparison, Typhoon Rammasun caused 350,000 people to evacuate and killed at least 38!
The string of typhoons would likely cause an uprising in using permanent backup generators across Asia…if circumstances were different. One of the biggest reasons as to why generators would not be a possibility is because of the zero lot lines, which are predominant in Asia. The lack of space and room simply would not allow for a generator to be installed and benefit those who could possibly be affected by power outages. The next major factor would be that in Asia, there simply are no companies interested in making backup generators available. Even with a number of typhoons emerging, popular companies in Asia like Honda are only invested in portable generators.
In the grand scheme of things, Americans have had their fair share of major storms, which have battered our country, both physically and emotionally. Asia seems to be experiencing what the United States went through during the years of 2004 and 2005 with major hurricanes like Hurricane Katrina. But just because Typhoon Rammasun is not directly affecting us doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be preparing for the possibility of a natural disaster. And it certainly doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be paying attention.
Americans are in a much better position in terms of disaster preparedness. In comparison to Asia, there are very few big names that offer portable generators. We have companies like Briggs and Stratton, Kohler and Generac, just to name a few, that offer permanent backup solutions. El Niño helps to reduce the likelihood of hurricanes forming, but it’s rather unclear when those effects will wear out. It could be this year or it could be next. In the event of that happening, hurricanes could spike back up in the United States and we could be right where Asia is in the face of typhoon after typhoon. In the end, it’s best to have a plan and more importantly its best to be prepared before disaster has the chance to strike.
