If there ever would have been something that could blow me away it would be force 9 from the west in Vancouver. Now, I know that Last week has been quite a windy one in the Netherlands. But let me assure you, so it can be in the Fraser valley as I found out. The met-office issued a warning for gale force winds to be hammering the west coast of British Columbia. It was forecast to get so precarious that as a precaution sandbags were filled and stacked at the vulnerable locations along the coast. And it did help. Neither did we got flooded, nor did I have to get my wellies or waders out to help evacuate the elderly, thanks for that. However, not everyone was as lucky as we were over here in Surrey, as we are quite high up here. It could have been worse. Much worse, as I learned watching the news.
I agree, one could argue that it is only a rinse to get rid of the dust, but I am sure that the house owners in question would have a hard time agreeing with you on that. Especially when it is not the first time that they are hit by bad luck. Although I would like to argue that it has more to do with being persistently stupid than bad luck. Honestly, how daft does one has to be, to be fooled by nature a couple of times in a row? It is like living in tornado alley in the United States and be bewildered that the wind is picking up on occasion. Or, closer to home, like building your house in the flood plains of the river Rhine and complain about it being flooded when the water level rises. Get yourself an ark would be my advice. It worked 
for Noah. Well, as soon as he got the problem with the beavers worked out that is, as these little animals like to chew on wood. Yep, we know it now but I doubt whether the knowledge about the animal kingdom was that advanced in these days. Would it have been then Noah just could have fed a couple of strips of chewing gum to the beaver family. Problem solved.
The expected catastrophe did not happen after all. In the end, the forecast was much worse than the outcome. There were no floods at all, bar for a few minor ones. A few branches got blown of trees, and trees
got blown over. Business as usual, albeit not for everyone. The bald eagle that had chosen a high tree along 168th street as a vantage point near the Serpentine River, woke up the other morning to soon find out that his look-out had been blown over and it had to improvise. A telephone pole was all that was left for the poor bird to retreat to. On the bright side, it did not have them bloody leaves blocking its sight anymore. Fishing all of a sudden got a lot easier.
I agree, one could argue that it is only a rinse to get rid of the dust, but I am sure that the house owners in question would have a hard time agreeing with you on that. Especially when it is not the first time that they are hit by bad luck. Although I would like to argue that it has more to do with being persistently stupid than bad luck. Honestly, how daft does one has to be, to be fooled by nature a couple of times in a row? It is like living in tornado alley in the United States and be bewildered that the wind is picking up on occasion. Or, closer to home, like building your house in the flood plains of the river Rhine and complain about it being flooded when the water level rises. Get yourself an ark would be my advice. It worked for Noah. Well, as soon as he got the problem with the beavers worked out that is, as these little animals like to chew on wood. Yep, we know it now but I doubt whether the knowledge about the animal kingdom was that advanced in these days. Would it have been then Noah just could have fed a couple of strips of chewing gum to the beaver family. Problem solved. The expected catastrophe did not happen after all. In the end, the forecast was much worse than the outcome. There were no floods at all, bar for a few minor ones. A few branches got blown of trees, and trees
got blown over. Business as usual, albeit not for everyone. The bald eagle that had chosen a high tree along 168th street as a vantage point near the Serpentine River, woke up the other morning to soon find out that his look-out had been blown over and it had to improvise. A telephone pole was all that was left for the poor bird to retreat to. On the bright side, it did not have them bloody leaves blocking its sight anymore. Fishing all of a sudden got a lot easier.
There is a lesson to be learned here. Do not rely on the forecast provided by the met-office. There is a reason you know why it is called a forecast and not a prediction. No liability for one and there is room left for maneuvering as well. Like, 'well we did forecast there to be a class 5 tornado, but you know the weather can be sort of unpredictable'. Yeah right. Better to rely on farmers wisdom.
My advice would be to all move to Surrey, and get rid of the wellies and the shovels. No more sandbags to fill...
Great story's Adri. And ... congrats with your b-day. Greetings, Hans B.
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