It’s not local weather, but it has been such a crazy week, with places getting hit multiple times with devastating effect, that it’s worth mentioning.

If you have anything to spare, it would be worth donating to aid organizations like the Red Cross in the South Pacific and South East Asian countries hit this week.

First Tropical Storm Ketsana hit the Manila area with some of the largest rainfalls ever recorded, anywhere (21in), and continued into Vietnam and Cambodia… in total, over 300 people are dead and more are still missing.

Then a 15ft Tsunami struck the tiny Islands of Samoa… doesn’t sound like much, but on these low tropical islands, the water went in over 1 kilometer in places. Many people managed to get to higher ground after the initial earthquake stopped, but many didn’t.

Then 2 Earthquakes, first 7.6 on Wednesday then 6.6 on Thursday, have hit the Indonesian region of Sumatra and the city of Padang (population 900,000). Thousands are trapped, hundreds are dead.

A 5.1 magnitude Earthquake has also hit California, but no major damage has been reported yet.

And finally, Typhoon Parma is set to strengthen to a Super Typhoon strength (>200kph) and hit, you guessed it, the Phillipines, north of Manilla… there is still a chance it will turn North before it gets there, and the rain won’t be so bad, it will be the wind that will be dangerous.

We are lucky to live where we do.