Floods, Heroes, Memories

The Floods

     It was September 26, 2009 when a flood of this magnitude has visited Manila and people blamed typhoon Ondoy for the properties and lives that were lost.  Almost three years later and several days of non-stop raining, Metro Manila is once again submerged in dirty, garbage-infested flood water.

Enhanced Southwest Monsoon Flood in Pasig City, August 8, 2012
This is the street right outside our apartment in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City
Second day of southwest monsoon flood / August 8, 2012, 8AM

Ondoy Flood in Pasig City, September 2009
My brother Jeb and our dog Yassu on the neighbor's roof  in our old address
in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City / 3rd day after typhoon Ondoy, September 28, 2009

     Typhoon "Gener" (international name: "Saola") barely missed landfall when a Shallow Low Pressure Area (SLPA) was seen approaching the country last Monday, August 6, 2012.  The southwest monsoon (enhanced by tropical storm "Haikui") started its heavy downpour and after more than 20 hours of rain, has surpassed the rainfall recorded by typhoon Ondoy back in 2009[1].

Still raining and flood water is slowly crawling up our gate / 8:30AM August 8, 2012

Garage is slightly lower than the rest of the compound but don't worry,
the car is safe. / 8:30AM August 8, 2012

The Heroes

     Yes, Philippines is again under siege from nature, the effects of which made even worse by human blunder and irresponsibility.  But while the country's spirit is yet again being tested, we all seem to remain strong and resilient.  And as old heroes respond on these critical times, new heroes are also born and with their help, the country survives and prevails.

     Here are some photos from the President's website[2] showcasing the Filipino spirit of Bayanihan.  Proof that amidst despair and disaster, there will be those who will give hope, reach out and become heroes.

Photo from here.

Photo from here.

Photo from here.
The Memories
Remembering Ondoy...

     It's almost 11AM, August 8, 2012 and since I can't sleep, I checked some of our photos during the Ondoy flood and realized that the memories of that depressing day is still fresh on my mind.  It was September 26, 2009 and we were sleeping through the day to get ready for the night's work when we woke up at around 4PM to find flood water slowly creeping inside the apartment. 

This is where our dog sleeps.  In about two hours, flood water got knee high.

Water inside the apartment is a bit above the ankle.

Yassu, 8 months old at that time, was very patient and surprisingly cooperative.  He was toilet trained and held in for as long as he can until the first ray of daylight when he was able to unload somewhere dry and appropriate.

Jeb, Yassu and myself.  Stranded last Ondoy flood, September 2009.

     We thought it was fun at first, fully expecting the flood water to subside the next day.  But it did not, so we left three days later.  And so for three days, we were trapped on the muddy, dirty water while we cook and move around.  The neighbors who don't even talk to us offered us their homes so we can sleep somewhere dry.  Our land lord who's living a floor above us refused to take us in because they were afraid of the large dog.  I actually wrote about how Yassu helped us get to know who our friends are and those who just pretends to be.  Here's the LINK to that post.  Do check that out. ☺

= = =

     My friends, it's funny how life finds a way to teach us our ideals and the things we need to know.  And when we refuse to learn its lessons, nature finds a way to teach us until we're educated.  I cannot emphasize enough how strongly we need to do our part in making all these go away.  Proper garbage disposal, waste recycling and all that boring but relevant stuff.  Unless we start doing them and we start influencing others to do the same -- we'll find ourselves in this situation time and again.  Let's all work together, because heroes aren't just needed during disasters or bad times.  Why don't we be heroes everyday?  Let's start by throwing our thrash properly. 

     Thank you all for reading.  You can talk to me on the comments' section below.  Be safe!

References:
[1] - http://www.rappler.com/nation/10004-rainfall-over-metro-surpasses-ondoy-record
[2] - http://president.gov.ph/daang_matuwid/ibat-ibang-mukha-ng-bayanihan/

 MS6EDXEW287M

20 comments:

Lady Fishbone said...

keep safe....

by looking at the photos "the hero" i can feel the spirit of "pagkakaisa".... nakakatouch.... :')

Unknown said...

maaf baru bisa mampir sekarang..
tambah keren saja nih blog...

BloggerRunner said...

"Why don't we be heroes everyday?". Nice one Myke.

We will surpass this, as we always had. But I agree that we should all learn so we don't need to surpass but should never happen again. Take extra care bro.

Love Always said...

stay safe there

Unknown said...

palala ng palala na talaga ang mundo natin... but God is still the same yesterday, today and forever... Praying sa situation nyo dyan ngaun... hirap talaga f nandyan tayo sa kanyang kalagayan...

Hariyanto Wijoyo said...

Flood is a disaster, and it occurs in almost all countries.
Hopefully this rapid flooding ends

Michael said...

Jessica (1) - Thank you. Glad to know your area is safe.

Tokoh-Tokoh Dunia_sofyan (2) - Thanks for the visit.

Light (3) - That's how resilient we all are but yep, people gotta learn something from this. And we need not always learn the hard way. Thanks Ms. Balut!

Love Always (4) - Thank you! ☺

Irvin Cg (5) - I'm just trapped this time, not unlike during Ondoy when we were wet, was forced to leave our apartment, and most of our stuff got thrashed away. So in a way, I'm spared from most of the bad stuff. Thank you for your prayers buddy. God is good! ☺

BlogS of Hariyanto (6) - Hopefully it does. Thanks man.

Oktifiyanti said...

no more floods

Michael said...

Oktifiyanti (8) - that's what I'm praying for ☺

fiel-kun said...

Ahoy parekoy! Naku, muli na naman nagbabalik ang memories ni Ondoy >_< almost 90% of my town, San Mateo Rizal were also submerged in flood waters on Sept. 26, 2009. But despite all these calamities, tama ka, kayang-kaya ng mga Pinoy na malampasan ito. Basta huwag bibitiw, Kapit Bisig!

RED said...

medyo baha din kami sa Makati. Di ako nakapasok sa work for 2 days.

Tama. Saludo ako sa mga rescuers at mga tumulong.

Stay safe.

Michael said...

fiel-kun (10) - Thanks fiel. And how right you are, of course. What we can do now is look ahead. ☺

RED (11) - Good to know that things are starting to get back to normal though as I write this reply, another typhoon is threatening the safety of the City. Anyway, thanks Red! You too buddy, stay safe.

Hariyanto Wijoyo said...

how are you my friend,
is still in the flood,
hopefully all healthy and happy always :)

Eka Ikhsanudin said...

Nature finds a way to teach us until we were educated. Dispose of waste in place to prevent flooding again. keep the spirit my friend... :)

Michael said...

BlogS of Hariyanto (13) - Hey man! Flood in my area is starting to recede so all is well. Thank you my friend. :)

EKA IKHSANUDIN (14) - Thank you buddy, have a great day!

ardee sean said...

grabe talaga yung ondoy.. yung first floor ang baha samin.. di rin nakalabas on the last day na ata nun na tumigil ang ulan at bumaba ng konti ang baha nung makalabas para bumili ng food..

Trayez said...

Great Shoot, Nice Picture.

JC said...

Yeah, that is too bad about the floods :-(. I will be over in Asia soon (China though) btw. It should be an experience.

JC

kimmyschemy said...

Ondoy was one memorable disaster..

a visit from kim!

Michael said...

ardee sean (16) - Hey RD! Didn't know that you guys were also flooded last Ondoy. Though it's all beyond us now, hopefully we all learned something from what happened.

Ryan Mika (17) - Ehrr, thanks. Haha!

JC (18) - Wow man, that's huge. Do drop by somewhere near so we can have a few rounds of beer.

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