Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the South Pacific

I don't know if this is big on anyone's radar map since cyclones (hurricanes) on the other side of the Pacific Ocean rarely rate more than a one or two-sentence mention on the news in the US, but on Friday the 13th a monster hurricane slammed into countries in the South Pacific. Of all the countries in the path of this killer storm, it appears that Vanuatu got the worst of it. You can find a bunch of pictures of the damage on this website for Australian news.

So far the death toll stands at 8 in the capital city of Port Villa. According to the BBC article I linked to, about 75% of the houses in this city have been damaged or destroyed. Fears are that the death toll will go much higher because there has been no contact yet with the islands that took the direct hit. The numbers of people who lost everything will definitely go up as rescuers reach the other islands.

Cyclone Pam also caused damage in the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and there's a state of emergency in Tuvalu because of flash flooding. As of Sunday evening, the storm was near the coast of New Zealand, but reports say it was considerably weaker by then.

I've been to Kiribati among other South Pacific nations--maybe that's why I feel an affinity for the area and the people. If you can, please consider helping them. CNN has a list of charities working in Vanuatu, a number of these from Australia, who has the lead on helping their neighbors. The Australian Red Cross has a donation page setup for Vanuatu. If you can, please consider making a donation. If not, please remember the people of this area in your prayers. Life is going to be very difficult for them for a while.

How a Hurricane Is Born

It's pretty incredible to think that a hurricane could start by something so small and simple half a world away.

What a Holiday

I haven't watched the Weather Channel in probably four months, but I've had it on a lot this weekend, watching Hurricane Gustav. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities and I guess I feel I need to watch and see what's happening there. I'm not sure why since there's nothing I can do except watch the coverage, but that doesn't stop me.

I'm hoping the storm causes minimal damage and I'm heartened by the number of people who got out this time rather than trying to ride out the hurricane. I still remember the post-Katrina aftermath and I hope we never have to see anything like that again.

Now, before this post becomes gloomy--or should I say gloomier--let's talk about something else. My goal was to finish my synopsis this weekend. I've been working on this thing forever! It's my project for the day today. Yesterday I trashed everything I'd written so far and started over. I did do some cutting and pasting from the previous version because it wasn't all crap, but the new version makes a lot more sense as far as story flow goes.

The only thing is that I don't introduce my bad guys until page 7 of the synopsis, and since I'd like to come in at less than 20 pages this time, that might be a little late. On the other hand, my heroine doesn't realize they are the enemy until a little ways into the book. She thinks the demon is her biggest problem. I introduce him first, but he's not the main villain, more of a secondary one. So I'm debating if I'm handling things right.

I'm thinking I'll try to finish what I have--without trashing it again--and then see if it works.