We've been dealing with the heavy rains from this typhoon for about a week now. According to satellite data, the center of the storm is about 600 kilometers east of the extreme northern tip of Luzon. This is where I happen to be. It's moving in a northwesterly direction and heading toward Taiwan and southern Japan. It won't make landfall here.

For a country that averages 19 typhoons a year, it's amazing that not one typhoon has made landfall at all THIS year. Only two, including Typhoon Ineng, have even made it into the PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility).

I count my blessings every single day.