Ondoy’s wrath

I woke up to a normal Saturday until my Mom said I should cancel my saturdate with Nixlove because floods in our village, by 9am, were already knee-high. Nixlove agreed, knowing that safety should always come first. I charged my cellphone (anticipating a power interruption that usually comes with typhoons) and watched tv. By 11am, three of our neighbors, those living below our condo-structured apartment unit, already sought refuge because floods were already waist deep. And we thought that was it. Then power went off.

By 3pm, floods started to submerge our landlord’s dogs’ cages. We decided to unlock the cages and taught the dogs to swim to our unit. We knew nobody deserved to die in that state, so even dogs need to be saved. Our landlord who lives in the same compound tried to salvage his appliances and furniture as well.

after rescuing three dogs

An hour later, water continued to rise, leaving our neighbors with no choice but to swim against the strong current just to reach our unit. Slowly, people filled our small abode. There was Tatay, an 82-year-old retired dentist and his 83-year-old wife; as well as the owner and staff of a nearby laundry shop, who were all in despair after losing their livelihood; among many other neighbors we were glad to be of help.

view from our unit. the green wall is Tatay’s house while the nearest roof was part of our landlord’s home.

After our neighbors calmed down, we realized we had a big problem. We had no food (we do our groceries midweek or on weekends) and all our cooking means relied on electricity. All 20+ of us were trapped hungry and cold while thinking of contingencies should water reach our unit as well.

We survived the first night with only a kilo of rice, one can of tuna and a pack of noodles. All 20+ of us. I started texting news contacts from PNP, NDCC, Office of Civil Defense, but only two replied and said they will see what they can do. I felt so inutile that I couldn’t do anything! My cellphone was running low, we had no food and it was totally dark. We spent the night getting to know each other and took shifts in sleeping because some had to stay awake.

The next day, waters remained high and we were losing hope, so I started texting friends from the media, hoping someone, anyone, could reach us and bring food. Some replied and gave me a flicker of hope but hours passed and nothing came. Several helicopters hovered over our village but there was no food. We tried to sleep the hunger away but sleeping just couldn’t do the trick.

Then some of my neighbors said they will just try to salvage whatever they can from their home. They dived into the muddy waters, tried to open their doors UNDER WATER and luckily found several canned goods floating inside their house. There was even a pack of Twix chocolates and a pack of pasta!!Talk about miracles! My other neighbor had a box of fresh milk and some hotdogs, which we used for the pasta. Instant carbonara! We had food enough until Monday.

With God’s grace, water slowly subsided. Floods were chest-high by Monday dawn and by lunch time, it was only knee deep. Now, only remnants of the tragic typhoon marked my neighbors’ walls.

The worst may have been over but I’m sure it will take time for Ondoy victims to recover.  Pero sabi nga nila, habang may buhay, may pag-asa.

I also TRULY realized that in death, there’s no rich or poor. We will all die and money can never save us. My experience may be nothing compared to thousands of other survivors. But I feel lucky to be alive able to tell my story today.