Hurricanes, typhoons, and Dengue Fever

The typhoons have sort of missed our area of the Philippines so far, but we've had heavy rains on and off from those skirting north and west of us.  This has resulted in flooded streets, and the schools being closed a couple times because of this.

and in some areas, the high water level has destroyed the growing rice crop.

The bad news: these typhoons have hit Japan and South Asia in the last few weeks, and none of it has managed to get in the MSM news in the USA because... well, because it is hitting countries who have government policies that limit deaths etc. or hey, it's just another flood in India so who cares (yes I'm being sarcastic).

the headlines are all about the hurricane that is aimed at the SE coast of the US, mainly Florida, where my son and other relatives live.

My son and his wife just got home after visiting his daughter and the grandkids: luckily they made it home before the airport was closed.

He plans not to evacuate, even though in past hurricanes they were without electricity etc, for a week. Part of it is just being stubborn;



But part of it is that his job is doing maintenance at the local university so he will be needed there. And his wife is a caregiver, and also might be needed.

I reassured Joy that her daughter would be safe in Minnesota from the hurricane (here, people just don't realize how huge the USA is).

But I also warned her that when I lived in Minnesota, we had heavy snow and cold, and tornadoes, and floods.

one problem that, so far, our relative in Florida don't have to worry too much about is the dengue fever etc.

Right now the Philippines is in the midst of a Dengue epidemic from mosquitoes, which breed in puddles etc. after the rain. One of our relatives was hospitalized for this last month and is now recovered, but most of the mortality is in children, alas.

I had to laugh when Cardinal Tagle (who is busy running for pope by visiting VIPs over the world) held a prayer service against Dengue and leptospirosis (dengue is spread by mosquitoes, and leptospirosis is a rat disease that you get by wading through contaminated water in the flooded streets).

He'd be better off encouraging people to check places where water accumulates and empty these containers, drying the puddles, or throwing out the wet trash, and to use Baygon etc to spray these areas.

He also might ask the Lord to inspire the government to spray these areas where people just can't afford to buy bug spray.

 He also could criticize by name the politicians who diverted money supposed to be for sewers/drains and mosquito spraying into their pockets, but hey, if you criticized all those good Catholic politicians (/s) you might get sued for libel, or even (oh the horrors) not get a big juicy donation for the church projects.

I believe in prayer, but one suspects a the deity expects us to have common sense and help him along a bit.... but of course, the students prefer praying and demonstrating and putting out virtue signaling tweets: this is a lot easier than getting one's hands dirty by cleaning the trash and garbage from the slums of Manila, or giving out free insect repellent, free mosquito nets, or insect spray to slum residents.

https://www.iamgreenwise.com/control-mosquitoes/