Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Along Came Typhoon Wipha

Kari and her crew were in the lobby ready to catch their ride to the train station headed for Hangzhou when they were notified that due to the Typhoon Wipha, Kari's match has been postponed until Thursday at 8pm.

This is the first time in 10 years that the eye of a typhoon will probably make landfall in Shanghai. Hangzhou is 200km southeast of Shanghai and also along the coast. Undoubtedly, they will also get plenty of rain and strong winds like Shanghai.

They are expecting up to 8 inches of rain over the next 24 hours so Jen's match has also been postponed and moved to Hangzhou on Thursday at 5pm. Unfortunately, Jen and her crew were not able to make the train tonight and most likely transportation will be stopped tomorrow due to the storm so they may very well be traveling the morning of the match by train.

Looking out the window right now, the rain is pelting down. We are not sure what will happen with the match tonight in Shanghai featuring the US and Nigeria, but we will probably find out shortly. For now, FIFA is saying that the match will kick-off as scheduled.

Never a dull moment here in China - as always, we have to be ready for anything. This brings back memories of Russia last year at the U20s final (for those who remember that match).

It is unclear what will happen with the television schedule at this point, so stay tuned.