End of Year Rains Are Back

The last three days of October have witnessed the coming of end of year rains in Sarawak. It is about time that these rains come after having lived through the two months of drought in June and July and very little rains in August and September. This year however the end of year rains are preceded by strong winds and heavy tropical downpour mainly due to the tail end winds from typhoons that hit the Philippines but barely hit our shores as they habitually swerve up north to Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan in good time. It is for this reason that Sabah, the most easterly state of Malaysia is called " The Land Below the Winds" in describing the nature of typhoons movement around the Asia Pacific region which build up force and intensity in the Asia Pacific ocean, then pound the Philippines before venturing up north towards other East Asian countries principally Vietnam, Taiwan, China and Japan and leaving Sabah ( and Sarawak) untouched. The news over TV and the Internet this last two weeks are testimony to the tremendous damage that the typhoons have caused to the millions of people in the Philippines this year,turning them homeless and with little food or shelter. Today I was not spared the heavy rains as I drove back from the City ( see inset). And grateful that we in Sarawak are spared from the typhoons.

End of Year Rains are Back in Kuching City

In Kuching it has always been my experience ( at least for the last two years) to find that the rains fall mainly in late afternoon, say around 4.00 pm onwards. In contrast, I find that in Bintulu rains are mainly during the night till morning and come daylight it 's good weather to work in the open fields especially if you are a civil contractor , a farmer or fisherman. In Kuching on the other hand, you start to pack your bags early in the afternoon and therefore there is less working hours in a day.