No one should scoff at Mother Nature’s clout. People on Lamma Island in Hong Kong continue to marvel at the remarkable plight of a large ship pushed onto a beach at the height of Typhoon Pabuk earlier this month.

Green and bulky, the stranded industrial vessel towers above the dogs and humans who frolic at Power Station Beach. A thick rope tied to a sturdy tree secures the ship, although it can’t budge without a huge human effort to free it from the rocks and sand under the hull.

Beach-goers (humans and presumably the dogs too) enjoy chatting about the tremendous storm-force capable of tossing ashore such a big craft. They tell of how helicopters lifted away the sailors just before the ship crashed.

Typhoon Pabuk also frightened passengers on the Lamma ferries. According to one commuter:

“I took the 2:30 p.m. ferry, and the ride was horrible. The boat rocked so hard, up and down, side to side. People screamed their heads off. Some threw up on the floor. I tried not to look at the windows because each time I did, I felt sure the boat would crash. Actually, I unfolded the life-jacket and had everything ready in case the ferry sank, which we expected at any moment. Then I realized that somehow, miraculously, we’d arrived.

“Everyone applauded and thanked the ferry crew. Then many of the passengers telephoned their friends and relatives, asking them to stay in the Central Business District because the storm was too dangerous.”

Mother Nature’s a powerful lady. Never trifle with her.

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