PART I: Ondoy

I posted the old Romania typhoon picture below (see previous post), not expecting that the post-storm weeping would soon come closer to home.

Just like everyone else, that Saturday morning for me was just one regular weekend. It wasn't even raining when the day began. My brother and my sister even went to work, while I chose to indulge in some extra hours of weekend morning sleep.

And when I finally got bored sleeping (yes, there's such a thing), I turned to facebook, and I was amused by the my friends' amusement over the floods happening in their respective places. Like me, most of them even found it cute that water is rising in their area for the first time in years, if not for the absolute first time.

In my defense (haha), it was really "cute" at first. Our neighbors were playing happily in the rain. Mothers were joining their kids wade in the ankle-deep water. Some were even lying on the cemented road, attempting to float.

And then the water tuned brown. Mud brown. Panic clouded over them, as it was clear that the murky water was coming from the swollen creek nearby. Water rose, up to the people's waists, and then they knew that Ondoy has rained on their little weekend parade.

***

Once again, TV saved me from ignorance.

TV showed me that Ondoy worked extra hard, and the damage was serious.

As the day went by, more and more arresting videos flashed on screen.

Until I saw that video, the one everybody must have seen by now - bridge, family holding on to the floating debris, man waving at the people on the bridge, group hitting the bridge... yeah that video. I deleted my pa-cute status updates on facebook. Cause it was just so wrong to be jolly, while most of the people around are in extreme fear, and holding on for their lives.

***

I witnessed the twitter revolution. Pinoy twitterers here and abroad were throwing updates at each other, right when getting up-to-the minute information was most crucial. Some influential twitter personalities were mobilizing their followers on calling on the authorities to hurry up and go to the people who need rescuing.

***

Everybody is doing his/her part. It didn't end after the storm. The overwhelming show of support, the overflowing desire to volunteer, the sacrifice each one has made to help the victims of Manila's most destructive typhoon in years... much has been written about this and mostly everyone knows about this by now, that anything I mention here will just be a minute detail in the compendium of Ondoy-related good deeds by individuals, and by a united nation. Of course, there were horror stories too, mainly about people taking advantage of the weaknesses and vulnerability of others. In times like these, we see human nature in its most raw form.

Ondoy has come and gone, and as we work hard in erasing the traces he left in our homes and in our memories, may we never forget the lessons it brought along, during and after, especially after, its wrath.