What's up with the Fish?

Friday (that was yesterday here) was a hectic day. Meetings with groups that have real impact on The Kingdom in both the short and long term. A very hectic day.

A bunch of PCV's (and Niki, The Chamber's Australian Youth Volunteer) have a lunch meeting with a group from MAFFF, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Females.) I added the female part, women are a special part of their mission. I am an hour late because of a last minute conflict.

We have been discussing ways we can help women in villages. This means improving nutrition, generating income at the market, stuff like that. My proposal revolves around enhancing the diversity of citrus cultivars within The Kingdom.

The best thing about these meetings, besides actually working on something that is worthwhile, is that they are always trying out their latest foods and concoctions on us. As PCVs we are professional beggars and will go anywhere for free food, especially if it is interesting.

The best thing I tried was, well, I guess the best name for it would be coconut grog. They had poured coconut water into a sealed plastic container on Sunday. Then it just sat. The CO2 produced, (sorry AlGore!) occasionally pops open the lid, but they just seal it again. The anaerobic bacteria naturally occurring here do the rest. (What do you mean naturally occurring bacteria? Not here in Tonga!)

I am the only one brave (or stupid) enough to give it a try. It has a bite, obviously a pretty good alcholhol content, plus a fair amount of acetic acid.

So now I know that if I am ever Lost on a deserted Island I can keep MaryAnn and Ginger drinking on Saturday night. (Remember - my nickname here in Tonga is John Locke.)

It has started to rain. And it is coming down pretty good. Although The Chamber is close we rangle a rare ride back to work.

As EC Coordinator for this Island I keep a close eye on lots of stuff, but mostly the weather. I know there are no tropical depressions at all right now in the South Pacific, so I'm not worried, but I do pull up the latest forecast by Tonga's Meteorological service and post it on the PCV only Internet bulletin board. It calls for some rain on Friday and Heavy rain on Saturday.

Well, the Tongans should have consulted with AlGore. We all know that he is the only man on the planet who can accurately predict the weather, and he did invent this Internet thing and it seems to work pretty good.

The rain get heavier and heavier. It is coming down cats and dogs and there is no break.

We are amazed that the local youth (Mormon HS vs Government H.S.) decide that this weather is appropriate for a major rumble, but they stage their 20 person fight in the middle of the main drag, in front of the Chamber, in the pouring rain. Stupid Kids. They eventually get hauled away in a police bus.

Niki leaves after 6. She has a windbreaker but it ain't gonna help in this weather. I stay till 8. I never go back to the campsite before that anyway (I'm not fond of my housing arrangements) so I may as well stay here.

The front yard of the Chamber is less than a foot deep, but flooded. I have to lock up the gates and look like a drowned cat before I hit the street. I head down towards the bypass road staying in the middle where the depth is least. As I approach the roundabout that is the largest intersection in the country I notice that it is flooded, then I am in it.

The water rushes. It is perhaps a foot deep here, but moving fast. It is dangerous. I boogie around the center and head out towards LongoLongo. The water slows but is now over the hubs of my bike. I can see no land. No land anywhere. Hundreds of acres of floodwaters. Water over the thresholds of the houses. It is flowing but more slowly.

I have to stand to generate enough power to keep moving. I use utility poles as a guide to stay on the road. I am at least slightly worried that if I stop the drag of the water will push me to the lagoon. I am not wearing swim trunks.

I make it though the really deep stuff. I am aware that the new mud flaps are probably helping me tremendously, but I'm a bit busy and can't check them out. Soon I'm down to normal flooding, under a foot deep and cycle the rest of the way. As I pass the local Chinese FaleKaloa I give a 'Yeee Haww' scream to a Tongan shopping there. (Remember, at these shops the customers stand outside and the items are passed to them through a rebar covered window.) He responds with a hearty 'Io' (Yes) and a big smile.

By the time I get into the house I can be no wetter. (You can guess how flooded MY yard was. This time the water was up onto the porches.) The inside of my backpack has a couple of inches of water, I don't know how it got in there.

I responds to a couple of messages on my phone from PCVs wondering if we are going to activate our emergency plan. I tell them 'no'. This is just a bunch of rain, not a cyclone or anything. But I do warn them about the flooding and suggest no travel.

Since I'm cold I cook up a big batch of pork curry with lots of frozen veggies, onions, a local red pepper and some Chinese hot sauce. It is real hot and warms my wet bones.

The next morning is sunny and I do laundry. My wet clothes are starting to stink. I recall that the water I was wading though is full of fresh sewage. (Both human and swine.)

Then off to the gym. I think about lubing my bike. I know bikes are not by nature amphibious and it will need oil. Wisely I decide to let it dry first.

I cycle to the gym. Lots of water where I live. I live in the official Tongan Mosquito Hatchery, so at least I know that my blood is enhancing the biodiversity of The Planet.

The whole area is flooded. The water is receding and was clearly several feet deep last night. Now only a foot or so.

But wait. What do I see in the middle of the road? A school of Mosquito fish. I cheer them on. I see several more schools as I approach the gym. I can't imagine where they came from. This is fresh (filthy, but fresh) water so they can't be from the sea? Perhaps they swam up from the mangrove swamps by the lagoon?

The locals tell me that this is the worst flood here since 1982. Wow.

Update - Sunday Feb 10 - Apparently this really was a big rain. From the local paper:

At 10 am today the Fua'amotu weather station measured a total of 289.2mm (11.3 inches) of rain in the 24 hrs from 10 am on Friday February 8 to 10am on February 9. The Nuku'alofa weather station recorded 250.5mm in the same period."This is the greatest rainfall we have ever had in the kingdom," said the duty forecaster 'Ofa Taumoepeau