I had already written about my own personal experience as I waited in agony for news of my mom and sister. Now I wanted to share a bit of what my family had to say. They were stranded on top of the roof of our family home for 2 nights as Typhoon Ondoy’s flood waters submerged the whole town of Cainta.
After seeing my family safe and dry and getting all the horror stories of their experience on the roof of our house, I promised myself I was going to write about it. Now, a day later and I couldn’t even type a word. I got too emotional just conjuring up the images that my young sister has seen and witnessed. Some of those include watching as young kids aged less than a year to 4 years brave their plight as they too sat beside her on that rooftop. I had felt helpless for 2 days but that was nothing compared to feeling helpless as an infant cries for milk but all you could give him was bear brand full cream milk as that was the only thing you had that you could give him.
My agony is nothing compared to the nightmares my mom and sister will have to brave through tonight and all other nights as they start to pick up the pieces and go back to their normal lives. Many other families will be plagued by nightmares as they try to cope with the loss of their loved ones, their property, their livelihood. Soon my family and other families will learn to move on and continue on their ways and last weekend’s tragedy will hopefully become just a shadow of a painful memory. Soon.
I would like to share the words of my mom…
I can now say I survived two days and one night on top of the roof of a neighbor’s house in Cainta – something I never dreamed I could do. Thanks to our “very efficient” mayor, Mon Ilagan, who did not seem to know what to do, we waited in vain for rescue which never came. Talk was that Cainta had really no disaster plan in place for any catastrophe, much less one in this magnitude. It was a harrowing experience for me, but I learned some really good lessons:
- a fancy cellphone has no use if there is no signal.
- I made a good choice when I did not vote for Mayor Ilagan.
- a pack of choc-nut and a half bottle of Coke Zero can keep you alive for 2 days.
- life is more important than a laptop
- in the most difficult time, man’s hidden generosity and nobility comes to fore.
- saying goodbye to my home for 37 years is not really as bad as it seems
- a strong faith, a loving family, will always pull you through.
I am now living in my son’s house but will soon get an apartment near him, in a high place in Quezon City. I don’t know if I can or will ever go back to live Cainta.
Pictures c/o Dan Saavedra
Your mom must be a strong woman. Thank God they got through such a difficult experience. *hugs*
I cannot help but feel a thousand times sad about that infant being fed Bear Brand instead of being breastfed. Make no mistake, there are no judgments here, only sadness that a mother made a choice not to breastfeed because she was not empowered to do so, and thus was unable to provide protection for her baby when her child needed it the most.
But God is good, and I trust that they also survived, as your mother did.
And hugs go out to your family… it will take time, coming to terms with the loss and the displacement. But your mother, maybe because she IS a mother, knows that the only important thing is having her family safe.
imom – She is. Thanks for the hugs!
Delish – I guess I wasn’t able to include all the details. I apologize for that. The mother of the baby was not with them at the time. She was at work and herself caught in the flood at C5 Tiendesitas. Nobody could breastfed the baby because they are not able to. My sister had to help take care of several kids, the infant included.
Thanks for your thoughts. They are truly appreciated.
i’m happy to hear that your family is safe now. I’ve been following your updates on facebook last weekend as well as others seeking help. i felt really helpless. all i could do is pray… thanks be to God.
Acantos – Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I felt helpless as well and sought refuge online doing my best to get someone to help them. They are fine now and I am glad they are safe.
[...] caused by Typhoon Ondoy. I myself have a personal experience with this as I help my family deal with the aftermath, work their way towards recovering from this trauma, and start rebuilding their [...]
i understand where your mom is coming from but i don’t agree with the misdirected anger with the mayor/government. he might have been helpless or might have been caught flatfooted but i don’t think he was twiddling his thumb during the whole disaster. the man was doing everything he can do given that more than 90% of his area got hit and every neighboring area experiencing the same.
every area has a NDCC chapter but was anybody even aware of the magnitude the damage of storm? even if pasig, cainta and the other areas were prepared it would not really make a huge dent in the despair of the affected people.
i am not dissing your mom as i was not subjected to the harrowing experience she and the other flooded victims endured. what i won’t encourage is the emotional outburst of being privileged when i can see hundreds of military/police/ngo persons sacrificing so much (even some with their lives) to do what they can to help the affected and suffering. a few can make a difference but they can only do so much in a few days.
i don’t like politics and don’t side with the government. i am just trying to think rational thoughts grounded on reality and the extent of the logistical nightmare the rescue and rebuilding efforts involved in this whole disaster. this is something hard to do when one is caught in emotional distress. the good thing is that we Filipinos are one heck of a resilient race.
ciao!
Erin – You have a very good point and I perfectly understand and don’t take any offense. I personally don’t think that the mayor was twiddling his thumbs. But I would echo my mom’s words that he did not seem to know what to do. Compared to all others who were elected or appointed to their positions that did their thing for their towns or municipalities, I personally feel his qualifications to head the town of Cainta as mayor has been severely tested by Typhoon Ondoy. He failed miserably and at the expense of the people of his town. This is the message that is behind these words. And that is the message that is important that the people learn the next time they elect the person who will make life changing decisions at their expense.
hi. i had a taste of Ondoy but it was incomparable to what your mom and the others had experienced.
i think it is not only Mon Ilagan who was inefficient and ineffective that tragic day. i think the government had very poor planning, too. it was a domino effect – from the government to its officials.
Bing – I could really say a lot of things to pinpoint the inefficiencies and mistakes that were made but I can reserve that for the next time I choose who to elect for office. Right now, my family and I want to forget the bad memories and start moving on. You are lucky as I am to have experienced Ondoy without really being affected like the others.
my friends in Philippines were also victimized by the flooding caused by Typhoon Ondoy. i just hope that you guys could recover soon from this natural disaster. `
Kawawa talaga yung mga nabiktima ng Typhoon Ondoy, buti na lang at medyo naka-recover na tayo ngayon. ~