I've been in the field for the last couple weeks, which was during the time that it was raining over here in south korea. Thankfully, I wasn't in any of the exact areas that got flooded out(although some of the roads we used were approaching unacceptable, even by army standards) Also, not being in any of those areas, and not having access to news sites and newspapers, I wasn't really aware how bad it was. Apparently, there is a casualty estimate of between 200 and 300 people, with thousands of homes being destroyed.This site is one that I found by googling that talked about the flooding and the damages caused by the flooding. There are tons more, but I didn't want to list all of them.

Again, thankfully I wasn't in any place that got seriously flooded, but by the rains that I got stuck in, I can't imagine how it would have been to be in any of those places. At one point, we watched as literal waves of water just fell from the sky. We ended up putting off some of our ranges and exercises because of how bad it got at times. I did get pictures of the area we were at when it was happening, and they're here, too. They're not very good, though. Apparently my camera didn't like the rain and moisture very much. I also haven't had the opportunity to upload *all* of the picture that I took while we were out.

So- what natural disasters have you been in the area of? How close were you? Any pictures to share the experience with the rest of us?

I would like to point out quickly that the below pictures were taken between the hours of 0900 and 1500. It's not like I took them in the middle of the night, it's just the rain and clouds that were blocking the light from the sun.



(yes, I pointed out the small pond to those two, but they didn't listen, and with how wet we all were, it didn't matter much, anyways)

this one is just an example of how humid it was when it wasn't raining.

Well, this one time I totally got rained on in a car park.

Geographically speaking, I think I live in one of the least likely disaster areas. My country being in the middle of a tectonic plate means we don't get 'quakes or 'canoes and we don't have tropical winds down on the bottom bit.

We do get a little bit of light flooding now and then, but it's not the same.

Spyder- Back in 04' , August 13th, Hurricane Charlie visited my town of Wauchula in Florida. Thankfully it moved quickly, the hurricane came and went in about an hour. Afterwards, it is so hard to describe how you felt. Of course the power was out, no big deal. Power goes out, right? The city water supply was cut off with breaks all over town. Streets were nigh impassible with trees and power lines down everywhere. Even out on Hwy 64 a few miles out of town trees and lines were down blocking the way. I remember watching the storm toss one of those aluminum sheds almost playfully up and down Carlton Street. Each time it went by it was a little more mangled, a little less whole. I I remember trying to get to my husband's Granny's house from the nursing home where I worked , the trip should have taken 10 minutes, tops. It took a hour and 20 minutes snaking through the damage, backtracking truly impassible ways. The food in the grocery stores and in houses throughout town began to spoil as the power stayed off. Generators ran day and night. I don't know about other people, but we caught rainwater in whatever we could so that we could flush toilets and wash the sweat off us a little. Bottled water was for cooking or drinking. Though to save the generator for running the fridge we grilled what had to be cooked. Water came back in about 4 days. God, that first ice cold shower was still heavenly! Power returned to the city itself 2 and a half days later. Though for some outlying areas in was well on to a month before the power companies were able to get to them. Suffice to say I'll never forget it.

Wow worst thing i had to deal with was not being able to leave my house for near a week. YAY blizzard this was when i lived alot more northern.

For some reason power did not go out. O.o

oh and that week long power outage a year or two back.

Does me getting a bit wet in rain mean nothing to you people?

Tch. No perspective.

We were crossing South Dakota, heading east for home during rally time. When we attempted to stop for the night, all the rooms in all the motels, hotels, inns, and doghouses were taken. Around midnight we finally just stopped in a rest area and opened up the tent trailor. Nobody could sleep well; the day had been one of the hottest and muggiest in memory, and the night wasn't letting up.

A few hours later, we woke to the biggest storm I have ever been in. The slideout beds for the tent trailer were flapping up and down like wings, and the wind made hearing anything impossible. The adults herded us kids into the truck (A Ford Bronco), and actually were able to close down the trailor. Even though I only had to go 10 feet, got thoroughly soaked in the process. We spent the rest of the night in the Bronco---all five of us.

We later learned that we'd missed a tornado by a hair. Whatever it was, I'll never forget it.

Jaezelle - where in S.K. are you stationed at? I pretty much grew up near Yongsan base. Those pics are pretty amazing. I wonder if Seoul was hit by the flooding at all. All of those gaming cafe's could get damaged. Yikes.