Here in Calgary, it's -26C, feeling like -36 with the wind chill. Yet I feel grateful. Why? Because my brother lives in Cebu City in the Phillipines, which was directly in the path of Supertyphoon Rai. This is what he posted on F@cebook this morning.
"Still dealing with the aftermath of the supertyphoon. Days of the sound of chainsaws, but the roads are clear. My neighborhood was one of the worst hit, and we may not have electricity or running water for weeks. Waiting in lines for hours for water to wash and flush toilets, or to charge phones, or to buy gasoline, or cooking gas. Failing to deal with all the meat in our freezer before some went rotten, and there was no garbage pickup for days, so the neighborhood stank. Sl3pt on the floor by the screen door to be cool enough to sl33p. Luckily we have lots of dr1nking water. Finally we came to Elvies and Vivian’s for 3 days over Christmas, because at least they have water here, and it was great spending it with them and the kids. Christmas dinner was cooked by candlelight the night before, and we spent today, Christmas day, with friends of Elvies at a house by the sea, and went swimming in the clear, bath-warm ocean. It might be days before I can post again, I can't spare the battery or the data to check my notifications, PM me if it's urgent. Merry Christmas!"