Typhoon Nari

Other than Halong Bay, we did not leave time for tourist activities in Hanoi so we set off the next day for Hoi An via Danang. Our flight was due to depart at 2pm, and they made sure to get us off on time because there was a shrinking window between the outer bands of wind and rain from Typhoon Nari, scheduled to make landfall in Danang around 2am. Vietnam gets hit by about five typhoons every year, so this was mostly business as usual for them. This particular typhoon was forecast to be the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane and had just left a path of destruction in the Philippines killing 13 people. Note: the detailed weather forecast in English was surprisingly hard to come by in the days preceding landfall — we did not have a good idea of what we were getting ourselves into.

Our Australian pilot informed us just before landing that he might have to take more than one pass and not to be alarmed if the plane pulled up. Turns out the first try was perfect — quite possibly the smoothest approach and landing we’ve experienced.

During our 15 second descent from the airplane door down the stairs to the terminal bus, we got absolutely soaked by driving rain. The airport was mostly empty. Our hotel’s driver met us and set off for the 30 minute drive south along the coast. The roads were eerily empty except for the few groups of Samaritans adding stakes to young trees in hopes that they could withstand the winds.

Arriving at our beautiful hotel Ha An (thanks to Jolley’s recommendation), we received some delicious tea and fresh fruit, and were instructed to be back at the hotel by 8pm due to the impending storm. I donned my bathing suit and flip flops, and we set off for a short walk around town in the rain to get our bearings. We walked along the river and over the Japanese covered bridge before heading back to the hotel for dinner.

The typhoon hit later that night, bringing with it lots of heavy wind and rain. Nicole didn’t sleep much, and was surfing the web for more updates on the storm. She found that over 180,000 Vietnamese were evacuated from the storm’s path, including many in the city of Hoi An.

We awoke to downed trees and debris everywhere in addition to continued rain and wind, but the worst of the storm was over. The morning was spent chilling in the hotel room, attempting to watch some of the bootleg DVDs supplied by our hotel: sound quality was too awful on J. Edgar to hear it, Skyfall kept getting stuck in the middle, Ghost Protocol started somewhere in the middle with a chase scene. We were getting ready to head out around noon to survey the damage when the phone rang. The river 1 block south was expected to flood to about waist height in the lobby, and our hotel was evacuating all guests to other hotels further inland from the river!

Our self preservation genes kicked in. We packed quickly thinking this was an emergency and ensuring we were some of the first guests to get transportation to safety. Turns out the flooding was not expected until late that night so we were safe. Our new digs were not nearly as spectacular as the Ha An, with signs of water damage in our room, and intermittent power and internet, but at least we were on higher ground.

Our walk around town later in the evening produced these images of the storm’s destruction. The locals were out in full force the entire time repairing metal roofs, cutting downed tree limbs, and repairing their own telecon connections. The entire community seemed to work together in good spirits making this a very warm and inviting place to be.