Last two nights was absolutely <insert negative word of choice>.

Well, I had an inkling of how serious things were when The Monopolist showed a picture of his practically pulverized vehicle, but after today, I had finally swallowed in the severity of the situation. He was only one of a hundred.

I, unfortunately have no pictures, but I’ve seen billboards smashed down and defaced by the mighty force of the wind, street lights and decorations from July’s celebrations ripped apart, roofs from houses flying off haphazardly.

This kind of weather, the wind blowing at (at the very least) 80km/h, strong enough to uproot trees, violently whistling away, rain pouring down ferociously that visibility on the road is just a distant memory.

I was here thinking: How can we not have a warning system? The news reported a drizzle, but, drizzles don’t uproot trees.

Have we not learnt from the Hurricane Katrina that disasters strike as fast as lightning but can be predicted months before? Have none of us learnt from the Asian Tsunami that one of the key points to remember about successful disaster relief is having disaster preparedness?

To think that Brunei hosted the International Forum for Disaster Relief. We don’t even have a warning system for extremely bad weather.

A malay proverb, get the umbrella ready before the rain comes. Don’t wait until the death toll reaches a certain number, it’s not worth it. We act swiftly.