September 26, 2009… A day to remember. A downcast and dispirited day, indeed. There were times when we love the rains pouring down our roofs while we lazily snuggle in our blanket to get more sleep. But on that Saturday morning, when Visayas was experiencing heavy rains with gusty winds, Metro Manila and neighboring provinces were drenched with heavy rains brought by tropical storm Ondoy a.k.a. Ketsana and the water got a life of its own flooding every nook and cranny of Southern Luzon.
Ondoy brought Southern Luzon a month’s worth of rainfall in 6 hours. It turned roads to rivers claiming lives and properties. People seek shelter on top of their roof. I was disheartened with what I had seen online and on tv. However, online communities truly played a big role in providing hotlines and information. They hasten the search and rescue operation. Sad to say, rubber boats are still not enough and some – tired and hungry – got help after 24 hours. Private sectors already provided aid and rescue in their own way. Different drop off points were set around the globe to collect more funds and donations.
I have my own experience of tropical storms when I was working in Ortigas. It was also September of 2006 when typhoon Milenyo hurdled its own fury of heavy rains and strong winds in just a few hours bringing down trees and billboards. I was in a mid day shift and the storm subsided when I readied myself for work. The sky was clear as if nothing happened but several billboards and lampposts were turned down. I was caught in a 2-hour traffic when it should only take 45 minutes from Evangelista St. to Megamall along EDSA and I already texted Coach Moe that no doubt I would be late for work.
Upon reaching our building, there was a long line of people waiting to be served by the elevator. Only one elevator out of the 4 was functional because of the Luzon-wide blackout. I saw one of my teammates who decided to take the stairs and I went along with him up to the 14th floor (technically 13th floor). There we stayed until our logout time with no electricity, no proper ventilation and nothing to do; just sitting and waiting for electricity to resume since we were the only team on duty that afternoon. The electricity resumed at 8 pm in time for us to go home.
My first flood encounter in Metro Manila was August of 2007 just days before I resigned from my job. I was scheduled to claim my wedding gown and the gowns of my entourage before I flew back to Bacolod. I postponed it once because of heavy rains. Afraid that I might not get them in time before my flight, I bravely stormed my way to Kamuning, QC from Dian St, Makati City. Luckily, I have my MRT stored value card which saved me from waiting through very long lines from the stairs of Buendia station.
It wasn’t raining when I reached the shop but Beauty and Lyn were already texting me that there was a downpour of rains in Makati area. I packed some gowns in a backpack and placed the bag over my shoulders while I carried a big plastic of gowns in one hand then a huge box which contained my gown in another hand. I took a taxi from Kamuning and my worries grew when we reached flooded areas of Makati but I was still far from our rented apartment. The taxi driver tried to search for some less flooded roads. He even reached Evangelista St but everywhere was flooded. My thoughts kept running as to where I would spend the day in case the taxi failed to find a safer road to drive. Lyn kept on asking my whereabouts so that she could prepare some bills in case I ran out of money to pay for my taxi fare.
I glanced at the taxi meter and it showed almost Php 350 when we passed by a block away from our apartment. It was the nearest place that the taxi driver could drop me. I was lucky again that there were no rains. A kindhearted trisikad driver serviced me to Dian St trying to slow down incoming vehicles so that I wouldn’t get wet from the rush of water currents. He only asked for Php 40 but I handed him Php 30 more and that was what left in my pocket.
The flood in Dian was only between my knee and ankle and the first to happen in our area and I can’t imagine the flood reaching waist-deep in the same area because of typhoon Ondoy. Now, picture out the same situation if I was to claim the gowns. What I went throught was nothing compared to the misfortunes brought by typhoon Ondoy. I am thankful that most of the people I know in Luzon are safe. Moreover, I have so many things to be thankful of – enough food to eat, dry clothes to wear, and dry bed to sleep.
As of now, after typhoon Ondoy, more bodies remain undiscovered, classes are suspended for a week, water and electricity supplies are still less likely to resume and supermarket shelves are almost emptied. Everyone never ceases in praying for a sunshine after this calamity.
Weather disturbances are unpredictable and what happened also tested our preparedness. We sould be consistent in changing with time. We should adjust with time and not the other way around. This should be a wake up call for us. Mother nature is very mad.
