First Hand Experience – Ondoy (Ketsana) Survivors and Stories

From Dodot, Pasig

Despite the fact that we spent a day and a half with no water and power, everyone in my family is utterly thankful that we are all safe.  Those who were supposed to go to work on that fateful Saturday decided to just stay at home because the roads were becoming increasingly impassable.  We all decided to huddle in front of the TV watching the news when the power finally went out, followed shortly by the water, so we all just tried to gather whatever food we could from the cupboard and other places where we usually stow our food items and see how long we could last before having to go out into the rain to try to buy food.  Surprisingly, we turned up quite a lot, almost enough to last the entire family for three to five days.  Most of the food were canned goods and instant noodles, the result of the fact that most of us really worked in offices, and barely had any time to eat real food.

Nagulat na lang kami nung nagkaroon na ng power, we turned on the TV para malaman na naming what happened, and what we saw made all of us really, really depressed.  Mdaming namatay na bata, and even villages where the people were mostly rich, tinamaan din ng sobra.  Cars were piled up on top of other cars, and garbage was strewn everywhere, even inside houses.  That’s garbage, as in basura, and it was inside their rooms, on top  of their roof, everywhere.  I was so thankful na we keep out trash in a covered container.  We used the container para hindi lumabas ang smell ng basura, and now we thought, pag bumaha, at least hindi kakalat ang basura.

We knew we had to do something to help.  My mom asked us to get as many plastic bags as we could, tapos we collected the food we had gathered and stuffed them in the bags para ma-i-donate sa mga relief centers para sa mga nangangailangan ng food.  I also tried to see if we could spare any medicine, kasi alam ko kailangan din yun for sure.  I was able to get some fever, cold, and cough medicine at isinama ko din sya sa mga donations naming.

Once I am able to establish na wala pa din kami pasok, I will definitely go to the nearest emergency relief center and help out in the efforts.  Too many people were affected, and we were not.  We are not only grateful na we are all ok, but I think we should also try to be helpful sa kapwa, especially in times like this.

From Toffe Limbaga, Marikina

The rains caught everyone unaware. No one was really ready for it. We knew it was a storm, but after the huge typhoon in 2006, we thought it would be just like it, mostly wind, some rains, but nothing of this proportion. We did notice that the rains seemed like it showed no signs of letting up, but we were certain it would eventually stop. I was supposed to go out and see my son, but I decided that maybe I should wit for the rain to at least let up a bit, because it was really pouring, and even an umbrella at that point would not keep me dry if I braved the rains. After waiting for the rain to stop for at least three hours, I decided my son might already be anxious to see me, so I braved the rains and brought a large umbrella. I wore walking shorts, since I was expecting some build up of water, since the rain was pouring from the time that I woke up earlier.

I encountered the first flood just a few minutes after I started walking to go to my son’s place. The water was murky and smelly, but I thought I’d just wash it off once I get to my son’s house. After gingerly walking on some of the elevated sides of the street to get as little of the floodwater on my legs as humanly possible, I was finally able to get to the main road to catch a ride, and I decided instead to take a jeepney rather the usual cab, since my legs were drenched in dirty floodwater, and in an enclosed cab, I was thinking I might smell of sewage or garbage because of that. Getting a ride was easy, since most of the jeepneys were relatively empty, since the smarter ones would really rather stay at home during a downpour such as this, but I was more concerned to see how my son was doing during weather like this, so I pressed on. Halfway through the trip, the jeepney encountered some heavy traffic, ultimately coming to a stop in a section of the road that had numerous vehicles that were all on a standstill, practically parked in the middle of the road. I risked a peek out the window to see what the hold up was about, and I was shocked to see a wide expanse of water where the main road should be. There were adults and kids literally swimming in the middle of the road, some were even on makeshift life preservers made from the interior lining of used tires. The repercussion of my foray into the downpour started to dawn on me: this was some serious rainfall. Having nothing better to do, I was forced to wait out the traffic with the rest of passengers while the jeepney stood in the steadily rising food water.

After 45 minutes of waiting, my inability to exhibit any amount of patience finally got the better of me and I decided to brave the flood and wade into it. Choosing the areas that appeared to have the shallowest flood. I was forced to stand outside of a building in a decidedly elevated area where the flood waters had not reached yet, along with more than two dozen people who chose to stand under the shelter of the building rather than get stuck in the flood inside their vehicles. I waited there another thirty minutes until I received a call on my mobile phone, it was my son asking me where I was already because the rains were making him scared. His call further strengthened my resolve to see him. By chance, a large flatbed truck, normally used to transports lumber and other building materials, happened to slow down to a stop in front of the building where I was stranded, the driver apparently evaluating if the truck could drive through the flood. Deciding his truck could go through it, he revved the engine several times, so I took this as my cue to ask him if I could hitch a ride on the flatbed just to get through the high flood waters. A large number of the other people saw me and decided that I had a great idea, so they all asked the driver if they could also get on. After we all got on the flatbed of the truck, the driver then drove steadily into the water. It was actually deeper than any of us realized, because we were barely halfway through what seemed to be the middle of the flood, the engine of the truck sputtered several times and then went silent, and the truck stopped… right in the middle of the deepest part of the flood.

The flood water was so high it had completely submerged the front of the truck, putting the engine under water. What was worse was the water was already above our ankles, and we were standing atop the flatbed of the truck, and the rain was still pouring. This was bad because if we stayed, the water would eventually submerge the entire truck, and us with it. I made a split decision and dove into the water, even as the other passengers were also calling to me to help them. The flood triggered a near panic attack in me because I was thinking if the water was this high here, how bad would it be where my son was? I just had to get to him as soon as possible.

The swim took longer than I thought, mainly because I was probably expecting swimming through the street would be as easy as walking on it, since the travel was quite quick on a regular day. After what seemed like hours, my feet finally brushed solid ground under the murky water and I was able to tip toe on the street until I reached a point where the flood was only waist high. I walked for at least another hour before I had to swim again. I had to swim a total of three times to get to my son’s house, and when I finally go there I literally collapsed on the floor, exhausted and thirsty beyond belief. It was probably a small miracle that the power was also turned off at the time I took my swim, because in hindsight, I may very well could have been electrified, since I remember holding onto electric posts when I had to catch my breath and when my legs felt like cramping.

The following morning when the power was finally restored to the area where my son’s house was, I finally got a better view of just how bad the typhoon hit the country. Initial count of the casualties were more than 60, and it was still early. I just had to hug my son and thank God that I was still alive to do so.

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From Tonnette Cruz

Naapektuhan din kami ng husto ng bagyong Ondoy.  Wala kaming tubig at kuryente, wala ding telepono, kaya lalo kami nahirapan, kasi maraming pang ibang kamaganak kami na hindi pa din nakakauwi galling sa trabaho, at ni wala kaming balita kung saan sila inabot, kung nasa baha ba sila, kung nasa opisina pa sila, o kung ano na naman ang nangyari.  Ni hindi naming alam kung ano na ang nangyayari sa iba’t ibang lugar kasi kahit radio wala kami at wala ngang kuryente.

Naalala ko nung pinasok ng tubig yung bahay. Nung una ok lang dahil minsan pinapasok ng tubig yung bahay. Kaya lang medyo natakot kami nung umabot na ng tuhod yung tubig. Pagkatapos nito, biglaa na lang tumaas yung tubig. Takot na takot kaming umakyat ng bubongan at nakita naming na ganun na din ang ginagawa ng mga kapit bahay naming. Wala kaming nakuha sa aming mga ari-arian. Lahat nilamon na ng baha at putik.

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 We have had a bad land slide in this area on the slopes of Mount Arayat which has killed about 17 people in their mountain village. I’ve been busy feeding neighbours who have been left with nothing. The damage is mostly on the roofs, many houses are full of water and plenty of trees were blown down. We also lost electricity for 36 hours due to trees falling down on the power supply lines.
Rev Dr William Burton, Magalang, Pampanga

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It was terrible, It was the worst flood I have seen in my life. I live in Meycauayan. Last Saturday for the first time the main road in front of my house turned into a raging river. My mother, sister, brother in law and two nephews aged eight and six had to be evacuated from their house because the water outside was over their heads. Although there is a second floor, they decided they could not risk getting trapped in the house. They were taken out of the house when the rescue team arrived. Luckily the house where I live stands on higher ground and is three stories so they arrived in my place at around 5 pm all soaked up and shivering. My mom’s appliances and furniture were ruined but this can be replaced. The car was totally submerged in water with only the roof showing. It was cleaned now but has to be repaired. I just hope the insurance can cover all the cost. We are the lucky ones, our house is still standing, we are in relatively good health, electricity is back and so is the water supply. I just hope that the weather does not get bad this weekend
Amy Alarilla, Meycauayan City, Bulacan

I work in Makati and live in Paranque City, both of which are in Manila. I have never seen anything like the amount of rainfall which we had on Saturday. We are lucky that our house is on high ground, but the road outside was like a river and people’s belongings were floating along it. The exits from our village were neck deep in water and walls were falling down. Our neighbours on lower ground floor lost everything. I made it into work on Monday but about 100 employees were unable to get in. Some were still trapped on roof tops, particularly in hard hit areas like Marikina. Some have lost their homes and will have to start from scratch. What is clear is that warnings were not heeded at the top level and as such the general populace was unprepared for this. The infrastructure here is incapable of dealing with a comparably minor downpour, let alone a natural disaster! International aid will help, but all of us here should try to act by helping those with whom we have day to day contact.
Ryan, Manila, Philippines

I was sent back to my house so I could survey the damage caused to it by the storm. The first floor was completely buried in mud and a lot of things were missing. Luckily, all of us were safe and no-one got hurt. Right now we are cleaning our house in a bid to get things back to normal. Our village, Provident Village, was completely inundated by mud. Scores of cars have been piled on top of each other and the roads are impassable. We are still without clean water and electricity. We hope things will get back to normal again soon.
Lovely Lansang, Marikina

We live in a small subdivision in Pasig, close by the Marikina River. The mayor is one of our neighbours. We were inundated by a surge of around six feet in around thirty minutes. Many of our neighbours have lost everything. I had to swim my family to a friend’s house nearby. Their house was built six feet higher than the maximum projected flood level.
David Yates, Pasig City, Metro Manila

I was affected by the floods. It was terrible. However, we thank the Lord that our house was flooded by only five inches. What happened here was really terrible.
Jason, Quezon City, Philippines

In our office, very few people went to work. We have colleagues who lost their company cars, laptops, appliances, clothes – everything.
Berna, Pasig City, Metro Manila

We moved to Manila just two months ago with my, and then all this happens just after we settled in our rented home. We are now safe but we suffered significant loss, but we are grateful to be alive and consider ourselves fortunate compared to many others who lost loved ones and everything they have.
Den and Sam Enguillo,Philippines

We live in Cainta – the city declared by our mayor to be 100% under water. Our house is full of water and we are stranded here. The flood waters are now receding, but very slowly. The rain has stopped since last night, but a lot of areas in my town are still submerged in water. We cannot go out as the roads are still impassable. We are just waiting for things to get better.
Grace Gamez, Cainta

I spent the night with mothers weeping over their children and relatives trapped on rooftops by floodwaters. These people have been on the rooftops for 24 hours without food and water, lashed by wind and rain. The mothers were at work when the flooding happened and they got stranded with me, unable to go home. Strange how I could have internet access during the disaster to describe this experience on Facebook, while the government struggles with a scarcity of rescue equipment.
Ramil Digal Gulle, Cavite

It is a really devastating situation. The flash floods made rivers overflow. We kept praying that the rain stops, not for us, but for our children. We didn’t expect this kind of flash flood since our weather bureau announced that it’s only signal two.
Marilou Cortez, Baliwag Bulacan

People can no longer find a dry place for them to stay. Even people who live in high rise houses and buildings are in great turmoil. People have come together to help save one another, giving relief goods to neighbours and friends. Praise should also be given to some of the big business corporations and establishments for their donations and help to the needy.
Mario F. Linda, Taguig City

We are staying in Pasay City at the moment. There are floods outside our building. The water reaches my waist. It’s really scary, a lot of people are stuck on roof tops where they had to stay all night. The water went inside houses and reached the second floor. We are lucky that we are staying on the fifth floor.
William Mills, Pasay

After 16 hours we were finally able to get supplies. We were not prepared for this. We were not given proper warning by the media and the government. Oddly enough we got most of our news from people on the net and on Facebook. As I was telling my family and friends about the situation in Manila they had no clue about what was going on. It took over 20 hours before any reports went to the international media. There are still people stranded awaiting rescue. The damage is devastating, many homes and businesses are ruined, family pets are missing and many lives have been taken.
Nico Puertollano, Luzon

The downpour of rain is unprecedented. The rain came without much warning. When we woke up in the morning, there was intermittent heavy rain and I thought that it is seasonal – indeed the rainfall throughout this year has been quite heavy, unlike during the last three years. When I looked at satellite images on the website I realised that the size of the floods is quite significant and I immediately alerted my family members to cancel all outdoor visits. Even at that time I didn’t realise the rain would continue through out the day. The rain water reached two feet on the main streets. One of the largest shopping malls in Manila had the ground floor completely flooded. I couldn’t drive, there was water everywhere. I learned that my colleague’s house was completely immersed in water and the furniture and appliances were floating. Another of my colleagues ground floor was completely flooded because of blocked sewage. Luckily they had an upper floor and the family with young children could sleep the night there. It is clearly a disaster situation. Many people died and many areas are without power. Many lost their belongings and many houses were completely flooded. The city was clearly not prepared for this eventuality. No one expected this. A seasonal rain turned into a killer cyclone.
Radhakrishnan, Manila

The BBC and CNN weather forecasters predicted the size and intensity of this storm three days before it hit Luzon, and somehow the government of the Philippines missed it. They made no preparations nor did they inform the public of the possibility of such a disaster, only at noon on Saturday after seven hours of tremendous rainfall did they finally figure out that people were in danger, when hundreds of text messages flooded into local radio and TV stations. Says a lot about who is really watching out for the “people”, and who are just feeding off the fat of the land.
Mark G. Budow, Manila

The onslaught began at 10am Saturday morning, the skies were so dark you would have thought it was 10pm. By 2pm my car disappeared. The water levels rose so fast I had to go upstairs. In a few hours the water had reached the top of the stairs. Fortunately it didn’t rise further.
Nick Valler, Manila

Yesterday’s storm was the worst I have ever experienced anywhere. I have been through the western monsoon in Mumbai, but it was nothing like this. It is very regional – some places are completely under water and others are clear. It depends on the state of the drainage in the area. My apartment is OK, but 200 metres away people are wading in water up to their chests. Our electricity is still working and we have clean water. We are the lucky ones.
Michael Lunt, Quezon

I am subscribed to a local warning text service of “breaking news” which sends me news updates. Almost every time the Iranian leader goes to the toilet, I get an update five minutes later. But yesterday I only got a text on the impassability of roads and harm to Metro Manila. Something goes wrong when “bad news” is reported in the Philippines. I also tend to think that the authorities try to amend data and statistics.
Eva , Manila

It’s the worst flood in the Philippines so far. Even celebrities in their multimillion houses that are three stories high were flooded. They have awaited rescue while sitting on the rooftops of their houses. They could not see their cars because they have been completely submerged by the flood. The flood waters were reaching two stories high in many areas in Metro Manila.
Rex G. Racho, Cebu

The lights went out at 12 noon local time. We had no electricity until 2200. The main roads are flooded and in the business district the underground pedestrian passes are completely full of water. I have been here two years and seen many typhoons but this one just kept raining and raining.
Marcus Downey, Mandaluyong City

I can’t believe we weren’t properly informed of this impending calamity. We had news of a storm the night before, but reports never indicated that Metro Manila would be affected. People did not have any information to prepare for this, and the government initially only had 13 boats to go around the area to save people on their rooftops. World, we need your help.
Katwo Puertollano, Quezon City, Metro Manila

There is no power here. Some of our neighbours are flooded and awaiting rescue on the roof of their houses. We are the fortunate ones as we have a good house. I fear that many poorer people will be dead as they have nothing to protect them. I am also worried because I work as a teacher; no teaching means no money for my family.
Sherwin, Metro Manila

 I am currently seeking refuge in a shopping centre because of the strong rains and winds battering our country. The Marikina River has burst its banks, completely inundating many houses and roads. Many people are stuck either on their roofs or in the second storey of their houses due to the strong floods. The city is also without clean water and electricity. Right now, I am still in the shopping centre because the roads here are impassable. Moreover, my house is still underwater so it’s no use to go back home. I praise the swift response of the Philippine government to the disaster. They immediately deployed rubber boats, emergency materials and aid to those affected by the storm. This also gave Filipinos the opportunity to help one another cope with the devastation the calamity caused.
Lovely Lansang, Marikina

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