Natural Disasters

Have natural disasters affected your travel plans?

11 years ago, November 1st 2012 No: 1 Msg: #162676 Delete Edit

B Posts: 179

First and foremost: Our thoughts go out to one and all affected by Superstorm Sandy. We trust that you will pull through this difficult time.

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, who has had to cancel or change their travel plans due to a natural disaster, or who was in the midst of the disaster.

We have never been affected at all but some friends of ours were travelling in Phuket, Thailand last year when there was a tsunami warning. Fortunately for them it never materialised and their holiday was unaffected, appart from having to take action and clamber up one of the hills close to where they were, along with so many other locals and tourists. The Thai people were so friendly and helpful and even gave them some water to drink, but our friends could see the fear in their eyes, because they had been through this before. Everyone was grateful when an all clear was given. Reply to this

11 years ago, November 1st 2012 No: 2 Msg: #162690 Delete Edit

littlewing
Cindy

B Posts: 897

Ahm...trying to word this so I dont sound like an idiot. Natural hazards is one of my subjects I lecture and my main field of study is Geomorphology so I tend to actually LOVE being somewhere when the planet plays up.

This year I have enjoyed one of the top ten biggest ever recorded earthquakes - 8.6 in Sumatra with an 8.2 about an hour after I came up from the dive i was doing during the 8.6 - In Sulawesi early in January I dived through a small tsunami which did no damage and again, did not feel a thing but enjoyed the bonus of a suddenly overwater bungalow due to the wash up (if you are away from a shore run up you dont notice tsunamis other than some funky up currents and down currents tossing you around a bit). The 8.6 quake was the one your friends in Thailand were evacuated for Alma.

Last year..floods in Krabi, year before floods in Phnom Penh, skirting around both a typhoon boring towards the Phillipines and a Cyclone of the north west coast made for a very long and interesting flight home.

Also last year Mt Lokon had a little bit of a burp which shut Manado airport for a few hours but nothing to worry about but was most impressive coming up from a dive to see Lokon spitting out bombies and ash.

2009 quake 7.6 in PNG and subsequent floods when the monsoon broke making the trek to get to the airport at Alotoa a race against time so we could take off and get to Port Moresby just in time to shake around a bit when the quake hit around Mt Hagen region.

2007 Cyclone George Cat. 5 - I was in Port Hedland and due to the fatalities on worksites ended up being asked to assist in the investigation and stuck there for three weeks.

Other cyclones - Alby when I was a child, Cyclone Bobby 1995 which also killed several fishing boat crew members, Cyclone Fay in 2004 when I was working at Ningaloo which turned the track to our basecamp into sludge for a week. Oh and the Meckering and Cadoux quakes when I was a kid.

Typhoon Nina when I was living in Hong Kong in 1987...which was way before I studied in the field so was a tad scary from a Kowloon apartment.

And is it any wonder when I booked with a friend diving in Tulumben a few months ago he warned other divers...stay away from her, shes an earthquake magnet 😊

I may sound blase about nat hazards but when its your field you tend to have a reasonable idea of the likely impacts and how to react..running round panicking is not the way to go. I would have to say Nina in HK was the only nat hazard that has actually scared me.

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11 years ago, November 2nd 2012 No: 3 Msg: #162711 Delete Edit

roamingfox
Alma van As

B Posts: 179

Wow, Cindy! I would agree with your friend - travelling with you could be a hazard I do like some adventure during my travels, but your experiences might be a bit much for me! I can understand, though, with your field of work that you find it very interesting. Panicking gets you nowhere and it was wonderful that you could assist in Port Hedland. Let me know when you encounter more nat hazards!! Reply to this

11 years ago, November 3rd 2012 No: 4 Msg: #162767 Delete Edit

littlewing
Cindy

B Posts: 897

LOL Alma...im looking at the pacific and nazcar and cocos plates and thinking..hmm, in 8 weeks i will be sitting on a flat coral atoll at sea level in the middle of the ocean...i would like to have 2013 a less..hazardous year for that trip 😉 Reply to this

11 years ago, November 5th 2012 No: 5 Msg: #162843 Delete Edit

tamandfamily
Tam & Family

B Posts: 320

My goodness cindy! Are you sure your subject of expertise didnt happen due to experience lol!

The only big thing we had was a volcano blew up in Bali in January 2010 (maybe 2009) and was spewing ash out so planes couldnt land there. So we were stuck there an extra couple of days - oh, how horrible 😊) Reply to this

11 years ago, November 5th 2012 No: 6 Msg: #162849 Delete Edit

littlewing
Cindy

B Posts: 897

Tam funny you should mention stuck an extra couple of days...how horrible..i was whining to PA that I had made my usual mistake and booked accom before flights and found that air tahiti doesnt fly to Rangiroa from Bora Bora every day of the week so i am Stuck in Bora Bora for another night......oh woe is me :p
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11 years ago, November 6th 2012 No: 7 Msg: #162878 Delete Edit

roamingfox
Alma van As

B Posts: 179

In response to: Msg #162767 Hope those plates stay still for you! Diving around an atoll is quite spectacular. Such a pity you have to stay an extra night in Bora Bora, lol! Never been there, but I am thoroughly envious! Reply to this

11 years ago, November 12th 2012 No: 8 Msg: #163034 Delete Edit

littlewing
Cindy

B Posts: 897

Im sure the Brinkleys will have something to add to this and an interesting blog after their scary night (6.4 and 5.7 quake while they were asleep on the 5th floor)...they are safe and heading away from concrete and heavy marble. Edited to add they have just arrived in Bagan. Really looking forward to that blog!

[Edited: 2012 Nov 12 09:39 - littlewing:163970 ]

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11 years ago, November 12th 2012 No: 9 Msg: #163042 Delete Edit

roamingfox
Alma van As

B Posts: 179

Glad to hear the Brinkleys are safe after the earthquake in Myanmar and hope they will continue their travels without any other mishaps! Reply to this

11 years ago, November 13th 2012 No: 10 Msg: #163062 Delete Edit

xtian
Christian Renee Friborg

N Posts: 41

it sucks when rains ruin your travel plan. 😞 Reply to this

11 years ago, February 9th 2013 No: 11 Msg: #166145 Delete Edit

Roosta
Ezra Erb

B Posts: 2,064

I've never had to change plans due to a natual disaster, but I've come close. I drove through the Southeast US in spring 2011 during the largest tornado season in history. Every single cold front those two months seemed to have deadly twisters in their wake; one killed 200 people. I checked the forecast every two hours in case I had to reroute around tornado alerts. Here's what it felt like after one outbreak: Nature’s Aftermath
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11 years ago, March 11th 2013 No: 12 Msg: #167204 Delete Edit

RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew

B Posts: 1,309

In response to: Msg #162690

Wow Cindy. Next time we travel, I'll have to check that you won't be in the same country at the same time as us 😊 Reply to this

11 years ago, April 9th 2013 No: 13 Msg: #168842 Delete Edit

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

B Posts: 10.9K

Alma-- such a great question.

Sorry we are late getting around to answer this one!

1st off...don't let Cindy fool you...she's a natural disaster junkie and would be sad if she had not encountered all of the quakes, shakes and winds listed above. She's a thrill seeker...

As dangerous as it sounds to travel with her--- Dave and I would love to do that some day. We are hopeful!

Our list of disasters is much shorter...and we are happy about that.
We prefer to find adventure in non-weather related events.

As Cindy mentioned we were in Mandalay, Myanmar a few months back and encountered 3 quakes in a two day period. (6.8, 5.8 & 5.6) We must admit they felt stronger from the 5th floor of our 70's hotel. The quakes didn't disturb any of our plans but we were a bit anxious until we safely drove out of Mandalay.

A month later we encountered Cyclone Pablo while we were on the island of Bohol in the Philippines. The track of the storm was heading straight for our island so we changed our airline tickets and headed to the airport. By the time we arrived at the airport our flight out was cancelled. Ok, so ride it out on the island. We got a couple of drinks and got in the pool. Fortunately for us, the storm headed south and missed the island we were located on. We had a lot of wind-- we've had worse weather in Florida and Washington.

A few years ago we were in Vietnam during the rainy season. Rain, rain, rain, rain and floods. Floods are nothing new to this section of the world but this particular year the train tracks were washed out-- so we sat stuck in the middle of no where Vietnam on a train with toilets backing up for 30 + hours. We finally found a taxi driver who took us to our final destination. This was an unpleasant experience.

In the States, we've flown during some snow storms and had to be re-directed to other airports because our final destination was shut down. We found a ride via automobile to our final destination which was interesting and proved why the airport had been shut down.

Rock slides in Nepal are rather ordinary but we are not used to it and found it very unsettling. Truly suspect that these were the most dangerous situations that we found ourselves in. I should say boulder slides. The roads in Nepal when we were there were in horrible condition. They claim they will repair them quickly but looked to us like it could take a long, long time.

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11 years ago, April 10th 2013 No: 14 Msg: #168921 Delete Edit

roamingfox
Alma van As

B Posts: 179

My goodness, Dave & Merry Jo! You come a close second to Cindy when it comes to natural disasters. Looks like you have had your fair share of adventures. It certainly makes interesting tales and thankfully you've come out safely at the end of it all. Reply to this

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