In answer to your questions, I’d have to say, “all of the above.” What we classify a class 1 typhoon would only be a tropical storm by US weather standards, so we get a fair number of ‘weaker’ storms each season. Loss of property and life depends on where the storm hits. A typhoon can go through the Philippines, wipe out whole villages and kill a few hundred people, then come to Taiwan and maybe 1 or 2 people end up getting killed.

To borrow from the 3 pigs, manhy parts of Philippines/Caribbean build with light materials – even villages of thatched huts in some areas – while US mostly uses wood frames. Taiwan, on the other hand, relies heavily on concrete. Also, Taiwan has steep mountains on the eastern coast, which absorb and deflect a large amount of the wind energy, while the southern US coast is pretty flat, so the storm hits land with more force.

Even big storms here don’t blow out windows or take roofs off of houses, so, yeah, people in city areas mostly enjoy the day off, although flooding and landslides are major problems in the countryside.

Sorry for the long reply, but I LOVE to talk about Taiwan almost as much as tea! Thank God you didn’t ask a tea question!!!!

Thanks for the kind words, and I hope to hear from you again.

Sorry to be off strictly tea topic, but I hear about the Typhoons so often and people seem to just take them in stride there more than here.

Nice blog, BTW. I will have to add it to my RSS feed!