Last Night

 The rain, which has been steadily falling for five days now, was very bad last night.

From about 5pm, I could hear thunder, but I wasn't worried; the rain was still just a drizzle. Over the next hour, however, it got heavier and heavier.

The thunderstorm started in earnest from about 7 o'clock. The lightning lit up the whole room, and the rain was so heavy that I couldn't hear the TV.

Then the evacuation alerts started. 

I understand the need for these alerts, and I do think they are a good idea. For the elderly or people who need assistance, getting the information quickly helps. 

But the alerts freak me out. The information is in Japanese, of course, and I have to really concentrate to see whether the alert is for our area! One thing that I've found interesting is the earthquake alert system. Sometimes, it's in English, it's a bit strange, the house is shaking, and my phone starts shouting, "Earthquake, earthquake!" as if I didn't notice!

Last night's alerts were constant; in 5 minutes, we had over 10 alerts.

We live at the foot of a large mountain; it's about 870 meters to where the mountain really starts (about 950 yards).  I know that part of the mountain has had landslides in the past. Some areas look bald, but I worry that a massive landslide could come down as far as we are. Is it possible? 

The alerts went on until about 10 o'clock.

These are two views of the mountain. 

This is the mountain on a nice day.

This was from my window today; you can't see the mountain at all.

The one good thing is that it's still rather cool! Even the cats are still snuggling together.

Cats snuggled up!

After all the excitement of the storm and the alerts, I was very tired. I decided on an early night, so at just after 11 o'clock I got into bed.

Just as I was dozing off, an insect started to buzz near my ear. I tried to swipe it away, but it went into my ear. I freaked out, jumped off my bed, pulling at my ear. The insect flew out, but I couldn't settle after as I had no idea what it was or where it had gone! I ended up sleeping with a small towel over my head!

Lovely ending to a stressful night!!!