By Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, OFM
It cannot be said that we were taken by surprise by Super Typhoon Saola on September 1 because the Hong Kong Observatory had already made a forecast, but it still left us with a sense of uncertainty and unreality because it was supposed to be the first day of the school year. All teachers, students, and even parents of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong had been preparing for the arrival of the day with great care and caution. Yet at the last minute, it turned out to be a “holiday”.
Then a week went by and it’s Friday again, only to be greeted by a black rainstorm warning and another “holiday”!
At the seminary, the number one challenge in extreme weather is to eat. Although Cardinal Tong was with Bishop Chow in Mongolia during the two days of the typhoon, there were still many priests and seminarians at the seminary. Fortunately, the cook had already prepared fried rice and noodles for us, so at least we could handle the first meal. Then it was time for the seminarians to show off their skills: they washed, chopped, cooked. Indeed “many hands make light work,” and a meal for a large number of people was prepared, not only in sufficient portions, but also with acceptable taste. In the midst of stormy days, what more could one ask for?
Since it was not just a typhoon, but a “super” typhoon, I went with the seminarians to inspect the surroundings of the seminary. Although the place is large, in a spirit of cooperation, we soon found out that some doors and windows had been left open and some had been blown open. As expected, the problems were solved by the group’s efforts.
After a night of stormy weather, the next day the seminary was devastated, though not to the point of being wrecked. Some of the indoor areas were waterlogged, some of the drains were full of fallen leaves and silted up, and the playground was full of fallen tree branches of all sizes. What should we do? Everyone gathered again and had to work as a team to tidy up, organise and clean up. Perhaps because of this round of cleaning, the black rainstorm a week later had little effect on the seminary.
At the time of writing, the wind had passed, the rain had stopped, and everything was calm again. However, the extreme weather left its mark. Apart from the silt on many of the roads in the city, it made us city dwellers realise the power of nature, and gave us a stark warning: it is time to convert, and to change our ecologically destructive living habits!
I think there is also a positive aspect for our seminary. The extreme weather has added a common experience for us, giving us an extra collective memory that we can share when we get together in the future. We can say, “Ahh! In the year of Typhoon Soala and the black rainstorm, we were together…”
