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| Part 2 |
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Tuesday, Dec. 18 was not only just the day after two weeks when Mindanao
Island, Lady Grace's hometown, was drastically damaged, but also it was
the day when the election of the members of the House of Representatives
was held two days before in Japan.
Reflecting it accordingly, the Mainichi morning paper that day was filled
with the articles relating to the election.
I happened to be reading small columns of each page, making use of my leisure
time, when one of the articles in "News 25 Hours" startled me,
the size of which was 1/4 of my clenched fist, on the upper part of a big
advertisement on the 6th page (International).
Typhoon Casualties 1020
in the Philippines |
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| The casualties by Typhoon Bopha which seriously damaged Mindanao Island,
south of the Philippines, totally reached 1020 people. The Disaster Management
Authority announced. (Kyodo News) |
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Personally, I took a one-day trip to Nasu highlands several days after
the last class of Senior English Conversation Class, the travel essay of
which I reported as the 54th in the Short Story Square of this homepage.
After that work I began worrying about the boring time. In order to get
rid of it, I was thinking of a next essay, too.
"How is Lady Grace now getting along in Mindanao Island?"
"How is the typhoon damage over there?"
Thinking of such things, I searched for the related articles on the internet..............
It was only a joke, but it has come true like this.
At that time I was working with the small photo album "the Senior
English Conversation Class 2012", making use of the pictures taken
the other day.
It changed the direction, in consequence, to a short essay and is going
to appear in the "Short Story Square" as the 55th story. This
is what it is now.
A couple of days later, WIKIPEDIA English Edition explained about Typhoon
Bopha half a month ago as follows. (as of Dec. 19, 2012)
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 Typhoon Bopha (international designation: 1224, JTWC designation: 26W, PAGASA designation: Pablo) was the strongest tropical cyclone to ever hit the southern Philippine
island of Mindanao, making landfall as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 160 mph (260 km/h). Bopha originated unusually close to the equator, becoming the second-most
southerly Category 5 super typhoon, reaching a minimum latitude of 7.4°N
on December 3. Only Typhoon Louise of 1964 came closer to the equator at
this strength, at 7.3°N. After first hitting Palau, where it destroyed houses, disrupted communications
and caused power outages, flooding and uprooted trees, Bopha made landfall
late on December 3 on Mindanao, an island that had been devastated by Tropical
Storm Washi in December 2011.The storm caused widespread destruction on
Mindanao, leaving thousands homeless and more than 600 fatalities.
After hitting Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley provinces, Typhoon Bopha
crossed the southern and central regions of Mindanao, cutting power to
two provinces and triggering landslides. More than 170,000 people fled
to evacuation centers. The typhoon moved to the South China Sea west of
the Palawan island province, eventually dissipating on December 9.
| Formed |
November 25, 2012 |
| Dissipated |
December 9, 2012 |
| Highest winds |
10-minute sustained:
185 km/h (115 mph)
1-minute sustained:
260 km/h (160 mph) |
| Lowest pressure |
930 mbar (hPa); 27.46 inHg |
| Fatalities |
1047 total, 841 missing |
| Damage |
$590 million (2012 USD) |
| Areas affected |
Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Philippines |
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
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| (Reference) Mindanao Island |
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Mindanao Island is the second largest island after Luzon Island. Philippine
Islands consist of the three such large archipelagoes, as islands around
Luzon, Visayas, and islands around Mindanao.
Mindanao islands hold a third of the south territory, and consist of Mindanao
and Sulu Archipelago, its south west islands, all of which is made up of
six districts and 26 states.
| Population : 21,582,540 (as of 2007)
Area : 97,530 km²
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I visited Urayasu International Center (UIC) several days ago, and asked
Mrs. F, Chief of UIC, if Lady Grace went home in Mindanao. Her answer had
the same feeling with mine, saying "Yes, yes, she did. I hope she
will celebrate Merry Christmas and Happy New Year there".
How I wish the whole island and Lady Grace's hometown suffered only slight
damage. And I wish she is now enjoying the reunion with her friends and
relatives.
Let's meet together on the first day of the next new term with cheerful
smile as usual !
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| Part 2 reading 11:26 |
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| <Part 1 |
| Short Essay 55 |
| ”Sr English Class & Bopha” |
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| Close 閉じる |
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