A Taste Of Nature's Wrath

Just a few days ago, the Philippines took a helluva beating from Typhoon Ondoy. According to news, it poured a month's worth of rain in just 6 hours submerging 80% of Metro Manila and 90% of Rizal in flood waters.

It's been almost a week now since Ondoy left the country. The rain had stopped. Most of the flood had subsided. But the storm had left its mark. It left so much of the city and so many lives in shambles.

Sadly, me and my family were not spared from the calamity. The flood entered our house and reached chest level in a matter of minutes. We don't have a second floor so we first brought our lola in our neighbor's house. Tried to save some of our belongings by piling them on top of our couch, beds, tables and cabinets. Then our couch, beds, tables and cabinets started floating. Wah. At this point, we decided to leave the house and save what's really of value, our lives.

Spent the night in our neighbor's second floor. We had no food, no water, no extra clothes, no means of communication, no nothing. My dad unlocked the fire exit so we could climb the roof if needed. My mom was complaining about the lack of rescuers in our area. Never felt so tired and helpless and scared in my entire life.

Dad led us in prayer that night. We thanked God nobody in our family was harmed, prayed for the storm to pass, for all the affected families and for everyone's safety. Can't remember the last time we did that as a family. Made me realize that I wasn't so helpless after all. I have my family and I have my God. :)

Got up early the following day. Not sure if I even slept, though. As expected, our house was a complete mess. Everything was turned over, scattered on the floor and covered with thick mud. Didn't know where to begin or which to pick up first. We ended up throwing most of our things. The couch, dining set, tables, cabinets, drawers, mattresses, clothes, photos, everything that was beyond repair. There were also a lot of things that we should've disposed of a long time ago. Unused clothes and shoes, broken toys, century-old documents and other unnecessary clutter. Saddest part for me is that I lost all of my books. My seven years worth of collection! Huhu. Oh well. We may have lost these things but we still have quite a bit left and for that we are thankful. :)

Help started to arrive. Relatives, friends and officemates extended their help in cash and in kind. I am really very thankful for all the assistance, the support and the prayers. It really helped us pull through this tough time. Thank you and God bless us all. :)