The sea is swimming around my neighbours house...

A couple of days ago, I really hated the fact that I live so far away from everyone, from families and friends and basically people to listen to me and my bla bla bla rings... If someone had seen me, in my own house, you could most definitely have described me as nothing less then a crazy woman, like a chicken thats just had its head chopped off and was running in cirlces in a panic (perhaps not the best analogy but yea, running around like crazy). All because I could not believe what was happening before my eyes.

It was int he evening, the sun was setting and I stood on our back porch with the Baby (little Mo) watching the sea,...tide was coming in, all was ok. Except, I realised, that the tide was particularly high. Now I am no Geo student, but I do know that there are certains times of the year??month?? where the high tide is VERY high, higher then other times of the year. But this tide, I noticed was very slowly (like real slowly, like over hours and not minutes) creeping up and climbing further and further up the edge of our yard where the earth meets the sea. Now the particular piece our house is on, was raised (meaning earth was dumped there to raise the level of the land) by the hubbys parents many years ago, I think mainly because we are at the end of a decline from the hills and there tended to be a slight rain /flooding/ run off problem every time it rained, so now the rainwater from the behind hills finds other routes to the sea, on the sides of us, not flooding our peiece. Anyways, so the land is raised, more raised then those pieces on either sides.
So after a while (couple of hours in between, I kept popping my head out the door, in between fa'asusuing the baby and putting the 3yr old down for her nap) I suddenly noticed that the tide was almost leveled with our raised peice..so I look left and...

The sea was SWIMMING around my neighbours house!! much to their dismay/shock/disbelief! They just sat inside looking out and around dumbfounded-its one of those things that had you in s frenzy..but what the heck could you do to stop it!!The tide has risen so much, it crept up beyond their normal edgewater where their paopao was tied to a tree (now floating) and had their entire house surrounded and more!! And it was not a particularly calm day, there was a bit of wind tossing up small waves in the ocean, even right round their house, the water splished and sploshed!! Now this has NEVER happened before in the 5 yrs that I have lived in this village, to confirm that even more, these neighbours have just completed building a second european house behind the named one, for their kids and kids families now grown, to move into- and yes, both house sat swamped by ocean...with them looking on, not really knowing what to make it this!!

As for me...global warming and the sea level rise has finally hit Samoa I think...and this is the evidence. Our low lying homes and now being subject to this. I have no doubt about it unless someone can explain to me some weird once in a century phenomena to rationalise this. But yes, it had me wide-eyed and open mouthed. the hubby was at work, so I was texting him furiously- The TIDE IS REALLY HIGH, followed by- OMG THE NIEHGBOURS HAUS IS SURROUNDED BY THE OCEAN- I kept repeating this and repeating this, blady annoyed the cameras battery is flat and cant find the recharger, phone mouse doesnt work , cant snap a pic!! kept texting him as if he could rush home and DO something about it...

Anyways, so for the last 3 days this has continued to happen, tide comes in, house goes for a swim, tide goes out, tide comes in, yet again, out....slowly water level has been a little bit lower...which I think is what usually happens with these super high tide things...but DANG IT...I was FREAKED. And SHUX< the poor family next door kicking themselves for not having built their new house 10 meters back!! theyve been piling the rocks down by the usual waters edge, but so far this has done nothing as the tide just seeps through all the micro holes.....
Its a sad sad day for us to see this happening...
something to think about!!