[September, 2009] A Deluge That is Ondoy

Let me devote this entire entry to a very important event that happened this month.

As my mind suffered from confusion again this month, that’s when a major catastrophe hit the country, that is, Ondoy. Who would have ever thought that minor rains would turn some areas of Manila like sunken graveyards?

As the song goes “Wake me up when September ends…,” that’s what I wanted to say during the climax of the typhoon. The deadly typhoon started hitting the Philippines the night of September 25, 2009. I was currently in the gym doing my workout routine. I didn’t go home that Friday night since we have a scheduled activity the next day. After working out, I was surprised by the number of missed calls I had on my cell phone. These calls came from my boss. After clearing the list, I immediately read my new messages. A message from my boss indicated that our activity is canceled due to bad weather. Upon knowing that, I immediately rushed to the office and made some cancellations thru phone calls.

The news didn’t bother me much. For me, it’s just an ordinary typhoon. I even went out with my friends for dinner. September 26 came and I decided to go home early bearing in mind that I’ll only be staying at home for two days so I really need to go home. It was raining when I traveled. It was still raining when I got home. Upon settling everything, I rested. Took a nap. When I woke up, there was no electricity already and the rain was still pouring. The electricity came back by 10:00 PM.

The following morning, I was surprised when my mom told me not to go to Manila because it’s flooded. A call from my tita confirmed it. She even told us that our house there is flooded. Soon, news presented the damages and deaths caused by the typhoon, scenarios that made me shiver and left me in shock.

To date, there is still flood in some areas of Manila. Some of my office mates haven’t reported for work yet. The horror that typhoon Ondoy brought to the Philippines will always remind us to take responsibility of nature.