tapijo

There was a quake yesterday at GMT 0315hrs 1014 kms to the nord east of Port Louis. According to the USGS (US Geological Survey), the event did not generate tidal waves and there was no tsunami warning. The earth in Mauritius and Rodrigues did not shake in the aftermath. There is a concern from the head of the public service commission(and also the president of the Central Cyclone & other National Disasters Committee)  that the  meteorological station should have informed the population about this matter(despite that no real threats took place). The head of the PSC did not appreciate the fact that as head of the committee no information was communicated to him in the first place.  On the meteorological side, Mr Suresh Boodhoo insisted on the frequent and low scale quake and that should a major threat arise, the authorities concerned will be informed accordingly.

Two thirty in the morning… Wind is howling and it’s chillinnngggggg……..Brrrr!!!! Can not sleep. Took the temperature yesterday morning and the thermometer indicated 20deg. However the morning paper mentioned something about 18.7 deg in the city. The meteorological station indicated about a second anticyclone to influence the country by this afternoon. So pullover, amorak and the likes on your shoulders… Needless to say the talk of the day at work was the cold. Some colleagues prefer the winter season while others the summer season. The general trend however is that those living on the coastal region hold a liking for the winter season. The reason: in summer everything is hot; the house, the bed. While in winter, you get something to put on when you are cold. So what is your preference??

Been quite hot yesterday. Does not appear we are in a transition period. As a result, have not been able to sleep since 2 days. Sommeil casser vers 1.00 am sometimes 2.00 am. And to make matters worse, mosquitoes have started to fer letour. What is happening? As i look around, i could not help but notice that ants are migrating to the upper part of the house. At office, ants are invading bread and powdered milk.  N they are even walking on monitors even in a conditioned environment. Weird, isn’t it???

It’s raining. Do not know when i will leave here. When it’s raining hard like that, road is congested like crap. It’s like a Thursday or Friday afternoon.  Not a single inch of movement till half past five when it is already dark.  Hopefully the rain will ease a little so that i can go home !!!

So hot and so uncomfortable!! Help!!!

First of all, a happy new year to all! Belated wishes! Beze sa. En an fini passer….

34 deg. And the temp is still not decreasing. Think need to put a hamac and sleep on it. The mattress is too hot even after airing. It is only at three in the morning that the temp is reasonable. But then four hours sleep is not enough. No wonder, i am feeling drowsy afterwards. It did rain a few days back but as soon as the rays hit the ground, back to square one.

On a different note, the police acquired three mobile radars lately to track speed lovers. In less than 6 days, 350 vehicles (according to MBC news!)  have been flashed. However there have been reports that the fotos of contract vehicles and motorcycles equipped with flashy plate numbers are printed blurred.

Most private companies will resume their activities on the 7th although some will be 9th. Public companies and govt sector will resume on Monday. Schools will resume on the 12th. However form 1 and standard one students will take the classroom classes on the 9th. Before we took our annual leave last year, the boss did mention of the economic crisis and added that next year (that is 2009) will be very difficult. I shall update on the actions he will be taking, probably downsizing again, but the personnel is already a strict minimum. Oh well nice resumption to all! And don’t forget to drink plenty of water.

It has been very very hot since nth days and months. Cinda has been a promising reservoir for heat reduction and some rain but came to be deceptive. So we still are back to square with uncomfortable temperature and sometimes headaches. If you do not have business outside your home, simply stay in with all your windows open or air conditioning on. Going out under this blazing sun could only bring you scalds or dizziness. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water and take aspirin with you. It can come handy.

On Christmas eve, i am here awake at 0325 hrs sweating with fan on and typing this blog hoping that father Christmas would at least grant me a wish to bring down this wave.

My uncle and aunt recently came to Mauritius for holidays and they could only say this: they came out of the fridge to fall into hot oven. They were welcomed by bugs and mosquitoes and unconfortable heat. Sadly they came at a wrong period. But they could not do nothing but bear and adapt. They already left to resume with snow and 4 pieces of clothing instead of one.

Second holiday forcer for all primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. 18 primary schools will remain closed tomorrow, Friday 19th September 2008, as a result of heavy torrential rains prevailing on the island. More than 200 mm rainfall have been collected and most of our reservoirs are at least 83% full, except for Midlands and Piton du Milieu which are 100% full.

Flooding is expected to occur and as a result of heavy saturation of the ground. Already houses near to rivers and areas where there are no proper drainage systems are victims of flooding and water entering their homes. The North and East and South are mostly affected. Now landslides are threatening areas between GRSE and Beau Champ. Police are warning road users to be careful in these regions.

As to 1945hrs, the country is still under torrential rain warning and it will be tomorrow when parents will be informed whether school will resume. For horse racing lovers, the event will probably be postponed to Sunday. The track is not practicable.

Brrr!!! It’s freezing… The meteorological station forecasts that the temperature can get as low as 8 deg in the centre of the island. Winter has started two weeks earlier and El nina is no stranger.  It has started to get dark at five in the afternoon. Thought it was half past six.  Very hard to wake up.  And it showers occasionally usually late in the afternoon.

Mauritius is perhaps one of the rarest country where each time a major decision is made, a section of the population has to whine. The case of the flash flood in March demonstrates the fact. On Wednesday, when the meteorological station issued flash flood and electric storms warnings and the decision to close schools  earlier, here again the decision has been criticized widely. Why do we have to close schools when it is raining heavily? - one would comment.  I’m sure if schools did not  release students back home, reGokhool saga again. Forecasts have been glim during the weekend.Indeed it should be raining till Wednesday but with lower intensity. On Monday morning, it was shining. Where are the showers foreacasts have predicted? It then rained heavily by the time it was afternoon for at least 2 hours and by the end of the afternoon, it stopped. The radio broadcast there would be a temporal calm and mention was made that all our reservoirs are full. Mare aux Vacoas is at 80% of its capacity. More news on the 1930hrs hopefully.