Tropical typhoon Ondoy wreaked havoc in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces last Saturday. In its tail end, Ondoy left most of Metropolitan Manila submerged in deep floods, hundreds of dead and missing, and thousands homeless. No other Philippine typhoon in recent history has caused more harm than typhoon Ondoy. It was almost like a deluge has fallen in the Philippines. Ondoy broke the record as the typhoon that made the worst flood in Philippine history.
It all started on a bleak Saturday morning with heavy rainfall that seemed there was no end to it. The Pag-asa reported that a total amount of 341 mm of rain had been poured in a period of six hours from 8 in the morning up to 2 in the afternoon. The unexpected amount of rainfall had caused massive flash flooding in Marikina, Quezon City, Manila, Pasig, Rizal province, Malabon, Navotas, and many other parts of the metro and the nearby provinces.
At present the human death toll is 246 and counting, hundreds missing, and thousands homeless, such as never before had been seen. In the wake of this terrible disaster, people sought refuge in barangay halls, covered basketball courts, and empty parking areas.
Typhoon Ondoy is a disaster that exposed many hidden weaknesses in the government's preparedness for a calamity of this magnitude. Hundreds of people were trapped on the roofs of their homes as the flood heightened to drown them. They hoped in their heart of hearts that a rescue team will somehow emerge from the total darkness and bring them safely to a safe ground. But no one came. While people sent messages of help in their soaked and dying cellphones pleading for help, the Arroyo government went on closed-door meetings and media interviews, where a single second may have been significant in saving lives. It was like making an emergency meeting of airplane pilots on how to save passengers while the plane was a few seconds from crashing. In this kind of disaster, every second lost and may mean lost lives.
Hundreds of people were trapped, but very few rubber boats arrived for rescue. Many died, and those who survived had to be sobered by the fact that a few more hours of rain would have certainly killed them, had not the rain somehow diminished in the night. They had to wait in the morning to be rescued, spending the night cold, wet, hungry---but alive.
But the wrath of this natural calamity has also brought out heroes out of ordinary men and women. In the face of this terrible disaster, the natural instinct to save others prevailed. Stories of heroism abound in this catastrophe and many of these heroes such as Muelmar Magallanes, Ralph Lee, Toto Poras, Jigger Poras, Rolly Ignacio, and many other anonymous people will forever be remembered by the people they saved. Many risked and sacrificed their own lives in order to save their fellow men.
After the flood has subsided, what remained is a landscape of devastation, destroyed homes, and shattered lives.
Scene in Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City. A big fire hit this Barangay while typhoon Ondoy was raging on Saturday night.
Far Eastern University, Quezon Boulevard, Manila
Quezon Boulevard underpass in Quiapo totally submerged in deep flood
It all started on a bleak Saturday morning with heavy rainfall that seemed there was no end to it. The Pag-asa reported that a total amount of 341 mm of rain had been poured in a period of six hours from 8 in the morning up to 2 in the afternoon. The unexpected amount of rainfall had caused massive flash flooding in Marikina, Quezon City, Manila, Pasig, Rizal province, Malabon, Navotas, and many other parts of the metro and the nearby provinces.
At present the human death toll is 246 and counting, hundreds missing, and thousands homeless, such as never before had been seen. In the wake of this terrible disaster, people sought refuge in barangay halls, covered basketball courts, and empty parking areas.
Typhoon Ondoy is a disaster that exposed many hidden weaknesses in the government's preparedness for a calamity of this magnitude. Hundreds of people were trapped on the roofs of their homes as the flood heightened to drown them. They hoped in their heart of hearts that a rescue team will somehow emerge from the total darkness and bring them safely to a safe ground. But no one came. While people sent messages of help in their soaked and dying cellphones pleading for help, the Arroyo government went on closed-door meetings and media interviews, where a single second may have been significant in saving lives. It was like making an emergency meeting of airplane pilots on how to save passengers while the plane was a few seconds from crashing. In this kind of disaster, every second lost and may mean lost lives.
Hundreds of people were trapped, but very few rubber boats arrived for rescue. Many died, and those who survived had to be sobered by the fact that a few more hours of rain would have certainly killed them, had not the rain somehow diminished in the night. They had to wait in the morning to be rescued, spending the night cold, wet, hungry---but alive.
But the wrath of this natural calamity has also brought out heroes out of ordinary men and women. In the face of this terrible disaster, the natural instinct to save others prevailed. Stories of heroism abound in this catastrophe and many of these heroes such as Muelmar Magallanes, Ralph Lee, Toto Poras, Jigger Poras, Rolly Ignacio, and many other anonymous people will forever be remembered by the people they saved. Many risked and sacrificed their own lives in order to save their fellow men.
After the flood has subsided, what remained is a landscape of devastation, destroyed homes, and shattered lives.
A scene in Barangay Industrial Village in Marikina City
Scene in Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City. A big fire hit this Barangay while typhoon Ondoy was raging on Saturday night.
Flood in Avenida Rizal, Manila
Far Eastern University, Quezon Boulevard, Manila
Massive traffic congestion in Manila
Intersection of Avenida Rizal and Recto Avenue
The elderly evacuees in Cainta, Rizal waiting for the arrival of relief goods.
The mass funeral for the typhoon dead in Barangay Bagong Silangan, Quezon City
