Zero deaths from typhoons in the Philippines

As the Philippines prepares for another typhoon, can we really say we've done everything we can to prevent another catastrophe? 
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It is the way of life in the Philippines - news of typhoons and flooding hardly bother Filipinos any more what with 8 or 9 tropical cyclones making landfall annually on average. But it seems to me we are like the boiling frog.  Every year another typhoon, another massive flooding, another few thousand men, women and children will die, and a few billion dollars worth of damage our economy will suffer through. It has become our new normal, only we think it has always been our normal...

Ondoy: Remembering the tragedy

It has been one year since the tragedy called Ondoy struck Manila. And it is typhoon season once again. Should we be bracing for another disaster?

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Remembering Ondoy

One of the many horrifying photos from last year's Ondoy devastation.

We were fortunate to be one of the residents of Pasig City whose house was not ravaged by last year's tropical storm Ondoy, but our neighbors, friends and families were - some had vehicles completely submerged in flood water, others had their houses flooded so quickly there was no time to salvage anything.  I recounted my personal experience with Ondoy in this blog post I published last year -Trauma in Ondoy's wake...

Postmortem Review for Typhoon Ondoy Flood Rescue and Relief Operations

It's been almost a week since I posted our traumatic Typhoon Ondoy experience, and was at a loss about how to move forward with my blog. Now I know how - this will be my last Typhoon Ondoy post.

When I began writing down my recounting of the events that transpired during Typhoon Ondoy's devastation, one of the Philippines' worst tropical storms, I had only one thing on my mind - I had to release this fear and frustration over everything that I experienced. I did not expect my posts about Typhoon Ondoy to be one of the most read articles on this blog. To everyone who visited, Thank you, and I do hope the compilation of Typhoon Ondoy stories here did help you also to begin your healing.

I have one more thing in mind though. After every big operation or project, an analysis or review is done at the end to assess where improvements can be made. We call this a postmortem review or an after action review (AAR).  I am sure the government will have one about Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Here are some of my contributions...

The RCS for Typhoon Ondoy victims in GK Village

For all Filipinos who have opened their homes and wallets to help our kababayans pick up and start again after the devastation of Ondoy, THANK YOU. Let the rebuilding continue.

For the benefit of Typhoon Ondoy victims in the Gawad Kalinga Village in Sitio Pajo, Brgy. Baesa in Quezon City, ALL85 presents Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, together with the Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS) in "ALL85 GOES GK!", Nationbuilders 25 years after.

The concert, originally scheduled on Oct 3, was moved to Oct 17 because of the devastation of back to back typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. The show must go on - and it does on Saturday, October 17, 8pm at the Music Museum, Greenhills...

Trauma in Ondoy's wake

The sunburn on my nose and forehead has begun to peel. No, I did not go to the beach. Who would go in this weather?

 

Saturday Surprise: Flash Flood

We had so many things planned for that weekend: maybe a barbecue lunch, dinner out to a fancy resto, a movie, some errands perhaps, or a relaxing massage - but our weekend activities was decided for us instead by Ondoy.

I wanted to sleep-in that Saturday morning (I drove home from Batangas the night before) but was woken up early by my worried girlfriend Liz: her sister Belle lives in Pasig too, and the flood in their area is rising fast. My dad and I had a quick coffee and tried to make our way to Belle's house. One of my Uncles volunteered to drive my Lolo's Tamaraw FX for us - we needed a high enough vehicle. The traffic was horrible. When we finally reached Ortigas Extension via East Bank Road, the FX could no longer move forward because there was already about a meter deep water. Even on foot, the water was already too deep to traverse. We saw one vehicle being pushed across - it was the only one that tried.

Share your Ondoy Story to help the Nation Heal

The victims of the ravaging flood brought about by typhoon Ondoy are in dire need of the basic necessities: food, clothes, shelter. Please send your donations to these addresses.

I am not a psychologist, but I do know that talking about your traumatic experiences helps you cope with the emotions, knowing that your experiences are shared my many others gives you a sense of assurance that things will get better.

Where were you when...

I encourage you to talk about your story, here, on your blogs or with friends and family: share how you lost and how you survived, share your frustrations, vent your anger, release it and learn from it, let's give suggestions to each other about what to do next time or how to build safety in our lives...

Dealing with a vehicle submerged in flood water

We are all still reeling from the damage caused by typhoon Ondoy - we have lost lives, houses, livelihoods and properties. Now that recovery has begun, we are looking forward to getting our lives back to normal. My next few posts hopefully bring some hope back - some reassurance that things will be better soon.

What to do when your car is submerged in a flood?

Images of cars and other vehicles floating in flood water or stacked over each other reminds me of the horror that was Ondoy. I was myself praying the water would stop rising on that rainy Saturday night - the water level reached up to our garage where our cars were, but thankfully it stopped right at my car's rear tires.

But a lot of our kababayans are not as lucky. Right now their cars and other vehicles are dead, filled with mud and gunk. But there's hope still. I suggest you show this post to someone you know whose vehicle / car was submerged in the flood water of Ondoy. It just might save him/her his vehicle...