It's not nice to see people suffer from the effects of Typhoon Falcon which hit the Philippines just recently especially the residents of "Marikina" and "Rizal". When the rain would still not cease, it could almost result to what Typhoon "Ondoy" caused -- hopefully not.
Well, for your knowledge, Typhoon "Ondoy" was one of the worst typhoons I've had encountered during my existence; it happened last September 26, 2009. It made the whole Philippines so much worried because the people didn't know what would happen next. They were not prepared because no one was expecting the unstoppable increase in the flood volume. The flood almost erased the "Marikina City" on the Philippine map. Horrible. Some Filipinos residing in good areas were so lucky not to experience being homeless and to stay in an evacuation area. Our place also didn't experience that -- but I chose to. Before I tell you about living in an evacuation area, I would like to share with you first my personal experience during Typhoon "Ondoy".
I was a Nursing student and I studied in a school which is a flood-prone area due to a creek nearby. I was in our morning shift, 6:00 am-2:00 pm (supposedly), but when I arrived at our school's hospital, I saw the water in the creek almost reaching the main road due to the very strong typhoon. I told myself it was just nothing and it would not even flood the whole area. So I ignored it and continued my work as well as my other classmates and my clinical instructor. At 10:00 am, all classes were suspended and we were all about to go home and Voila! All of a sudden the flood started to enter the basement of the hospital where we were having our shift. At first, my classmates and I made fun of it and even played with the flood using our wet shoes and feet (just like in the Titanic movie when the people just played with the ice on the floor not knowing that the basement was already filled with sea water).
We walked to the main door and that was the time my heart started to pound so fast. The road that I was referring to earlier which also happen to be the road in front of the hospital turned into a "RIVER" - no kidding.
It was 10:30 am when I called my parents at home to ask if they were okay and thank God they were. I told them that there's no way I could leave the hospital because the flood is as swift as a coursing river. And it happened -- all the people in the hospital at that time were stranded for more than 24 hours including me. But I was still lucky at that time; I was able to stay with my classmates and even eat real food while the informal settlers across the street were starving and freezing because the flood reached the second floors of their houses -- and they were all staying on their rooftops -- nothing to eat, to drink, nor an umbrella to somehow protect them from the rain. I could see the children crying but their parents couldn't do something. I could also see other students who were stranded in the school building adjacent to the hospital. When you were in my shoes, you wouldn't even believe what you were seeing. A bus was stranded in the middle of the road and the passengers were rescued earlier that day and mid-afternoon, that bus can already not be seen because the river of flood was so high -- that high.
September 27, 2009 (Sunday) we were able to go to our respective homes while there was still a little flood. My boyfriend and I ate first at 7 eleven because that was the only store open near that place and who were we to be choosy when we're already starving. After we made our stomachs full, we went home. Our place was good... there was flood all over the place but it was just until my knee (much better than the flood in school). But my boyfriend's place, it was horrible. Before we separated I told him to message me when he gets to their place but I didn't receive any for 24 hours.
I was so worried so I tried to call his brother's phone number (Monday) and luckily it rang. His mom answered it and that was the only time my anxiety left me. His mom told me that the river near their place overflowed and it reached their house causing them to leave and stay at the evacuation area temporarily for their safety. We talked for a few minutes but she hanged-up. The signal there was so bad. I tried to call her again the next day (Tuesday) but the signal condition in their city worsens. So I did just text them. They were able to receive my message and I was also able to receive a reply but it took a long number of hours. I decided to visit them the next day (Wednesday) so my boyfriend met me in Quezon City then we proceeded to their home. All of the residents there were cleaning their houses filled with thick soil (from the river). I stayed with them overnight and that's how I experienced being in an evacuation area.
What I learned about this experience is not just about being prepared for these unexpected calamities but we should also learn that when we realize that we're lucky not to be badly affected by these circumstances, we should then act to help other people who are greatly affected by these unfortunate events.
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