It was a very sad and tragic day for the Philippines and the Filipinos. On September 26, 2009, typhoon Ondoy hit Metro Manila, Southern and Central Luzon with such magnitude of waters that caused flashfloods and inundated the area with tons of floodwaters up to the rooftops of most houses.
We were also hit by floodwaters in Bocaue, Bulacan. Water was waist deep inside our house and five to six feet in the streets outside. Good thing we transferred to a house with a 2nd floor still remembering our sad experiences with another typhoon and flashflood two years ago where we lost almost half of our hard earned resources. We were marooned at the 2nd floor of our house and was without power for two days. Only when we got our power back that we learned about the devastation brought about by typhoon Ondoy to our countrymen in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Bulacan and Pampanga.
The devastation, death and destruction were so overwhelming that I could not help but cry when I saw the video footages of it all. Ondoy was no respecter of persons. Both rich and poor, young and old, male and female suffered the brunt of that typhoon. Scenes of people crying atop their rooftops shivering in cold and darkness, of people trying to wade through chest deep rampaging waters, of the heroic deeds of soldiers and volunteers who helped saved the stranded victims even at the cost of their own lives.
My losses were minimal compared to those who lost everything including their very lives. Ah, how I remembered when two years ago my family and I fought our way against similar raging waters to seek refuge to a neighbor's house with two floors as we abandoned our one storey house to the mercy of the elements. But the Filipino spirit is undaunted. The resiliency of the Filipino people was there. Tons of donations started pouring in and thousands of volunteers offered help to the victims. Tons of dirt, wreckages, debris, dead people and muddied vehicles littered the streets. It was a cathartic experience for the Filipinos. God showed the dirt and filth of the collective soul of Filipinos as typhoon Ondoy showed and washed away the collective morass of filth and dirt. And we can only hope for a better future where Filipinos will be united and help their brother Filipinos to rise above their woes.
Tags: Philippines, Filipinos, Typhoon Ondoy, Flashfloods, Floodwaters, Devastation, Death, Suffering, Hunger, Deprivation, Catharsis, Soldiers, Victims, Volunteers, Donations, Magnitude of Destruction, Calamity, Drama, Lives and Properties, Resiliency, Hope, Filipinos Unite
Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Current Events/Drama
