It took me more than 1 week to contemplate whether or not i should journal the flooding event from Aug 19th and i realized, i would and want to, this should remind me all the time that the place where i live has become flood prone throughout the years.
It must be the global warming thing or whatever.
The night prior, I was pretty restless on my sleep knowing how long and heavy the rainfall was. I kinda felt somethings coming.. At 3am i went up to check if the dogs are doing fine.
Ive also decided to check the river so i walked till im outside the subdivision and the river is visible.And it was not flooded yet. So i went home and as usual grabbed my IPAD to check Facebook, drop my boyfriend a Wechat message and check my vends in TWOM (The World of Magic). As I was about to go back to sleep around 4am my mother who is presently at the back of the house stated yelling. Water!! Water!!
The night prior, I was pretty restless on my sleep knowing how long and heavy the rainfall was. I kinda felt somethings coming.. At 3am i went up to check if the dogs are doing fine.
Ive also decided to check the river so i walked till im outside the subdivision and the river is visible.And it was not flooded yet. So i went home and as usual grabbed my IPAD to check Facebook, drop my boyfriend a Wechat message and check my vends in TWOM (The World of Magic). As I was about to go back to sleep around 4am my mother who is presently at the back of the house stated yelling. Water!! Water!!
And realization hit me. Flood..is coming.
As fast as i can, i grabbed everything that's lying on the floor, my shoes, my bags, my gadgets, the clothes in the lower area of the rack, the foam in my bed, electrical cables,rugs. I was able to salvage most. However i spent too much time taking care of the things in my room and so was not able to help my parents in the other part of the house.Before i even realize it, the house is already flooded up to the knee and is still rising. I cant keep up with the pace to putting things higher.
This is perhaps the highest flood that I've experienced in Laguna.
In the late morning, the sky is still as gloomy as ever. The King Sun in all his glory is still at hiding. I am drenched in flood water waist down, neck to head i am also wet due to the rain and drizzle. I swear i would chill if i stop moving. But i am just too hyper and worried to even care.
I wanted to save so many things and yet i cant. There's only me and my father and he's ailing some serious backache. He's too tired and frail. Hes given up other things too impossible to elevate. Like the fridge, the tv, the couch, the dining..
Its pains me to see things drown, furnishes and appliances broken, possessions with great sentimental values in keeping, fade as they lost color or rust or just simply wear off due to being drenched. Those things other people say money can buy, money can replace,yes i agree. But you cant get money all so easily right? In my case, i have to work for it. Real hard.
When the flood hit chest high, we've decided to send my Mom out. Some neighbors have 2nd floors.
We need her to go there because if the water goes any higher shell be in trouble being someone who cant swim at all.
It felt weird as i watch my mom crawl her way out of the house carrying on her head the bag with one set of clean clothes for changing.
Its like a snapshots of breaking news, flash floods, catastrophes and evacuation you see on TV.. The barking of the dogs snap me back to Reality. The table holding the dogs are falling apart. the flood is too high already.
Then My father and i decided to put the dogs on the roof, as we prepare to evacuate ourselves.Later on i see myself packing, one set of clean clothes for changing. the phone and passport that i safely kept in a zip lock bag,I wore my company ID on and inside my blouse (i did that so in case the flood washes me away they would recognize my remains hehe morbid right?), as i prepare myself to leave the house.
Walking in flood neck high while trying to keep myself balance and keep the bag on my head dry is not as hard if you go with the flow.
And since the water is going crazy fast, i was able to to go where i wanted to in such a little time. Although the risk to getting injured is given in a flood as high as that.
due to broken bottles,tree branches and even big logs that rush with the water.I still took my chances.
I was still in one piece as i enter our neighbor's house. Although i got bruised by accidentally bumping in some sofa under the the water, I'm still good.
While in my neighbors second floor, Ive went online on Skype to drop a short message to my boss that I'm absent for the day.And briefly i told about the catastrophic day I am having.
In an hour or so, the flood cease and as soon as the street flood is waist high I've decided to go back home.It was a struggle, being the current opposite to my direction. Thank God, the flood continuously went down. By 6pm the remnants of the flood left a devastating site everywhere.
The streets are filled with thick mud and muck.Garbage and dead animals are everywhere. The dreadful part is yet to come, the cleaning, getting things together and moving on.One bad part is that Laguna Water Service is out. (Honestly they are not dependable) So we were not able to clean anything.
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| This is the inside of my room, the water is already above the first deck of my bed. |
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| Water!! Dont go up anymore or my TV is dead! |
In the late morning, the sky is still as gloomy as ever. The King Sun in all his glory is still at hiding. I am drenched in flood water waist down, neck to head i am also wet due to the rain and drizzle. I swear i would chill if i stop moving. But i am just too hyper and worried to even care.
I wanted to save so many things and yet i cant. There's only me and my father and he's ailing some serious backache. He's too tired and frail. Hes given up other things too impossible to elevate. Like the fridge, the tv, the couch, the dining..
Its pains me to see things drown, furnishes and appliances broken, possessions with great sentimental values in keeping, fade as they lost color or rust or just simply wear off due to being drenched. Those things other people say money can buy, money can replace,yes i agree. But you cant get money all so easily right? In my case, i have to work for it. Real hard.
When the flood hit chest high, we've decided to send my Mom out. Some neighbors have 2nd floors.
We need her to go there because if the water goes any higher shell be in trouble being someone who cant swim at all.
It felt weird as i watch my mom crawl her way out of the house carrying on her head the bag with one set of clean clothes for changing.
Its like a snapshots of breaking news, flash floods, catastrophes and evacuation you see on TV.. The barking of the dogs snap me back to Reality. The table holding the dogs are falling apart. the flood is too high already.
Then My father and i decided to put the dogs on the roof, as we prepare to evacuate ourselves.Later on i see myself packing, one set of clean clothes for changing. the phone and passport that i safely kept in a zip lock bag,I wore my company ID on and inside my blouse (i did that so in case the flood washes me away they would recognize my remains hehe morbid right?), as i prepare myself to leave the house.
Walking in flood neck high while trying to keep myself balance and keep the bag on my head dry is not as hard if you go with the flow.
And since the water is going crazy fast, i was able to to go where i wanted to in such a little time. Although the risk to getting injured is given in a flood as high as that.
due to broken bottles,tree branches and even big logs that rush with the water.I still took my chances.
I was still in one piece as i enter our neighbor's house. Although i got bruised by accidentally bumping in some sofa under the the water, I'm still good.
While in my neighbors second floor, Ive went online on Skype to drop a short message to my boss that I'm absent for the day.And briefly i told about the catastrophic day I am having.
In an hour or so, the flood cease and as soon as the street flood is waist high I've decided to go back home.It was a struggle, being the current opposite to my direction. Thank God, the flood continuously went down. By 6pm the remnants of the flood left a devastating site everywhere.
The streets are filled with thick mud and muck.Garbage and dead animals are everywhere. The dreadful part is yet to come, the cleaning, getting things together and moving on.One bad part is that Laguna Water Service is out. (Honestly they are not dependable) So we were not able to clean anything.
My mom and i decided to go to my sis house while my sis husband accompany my father in our house. We need a bed to sleep on at night and we badly need to clean ourselves. I for once needs changing and was feverish already.
As i laid my back to rest i thought, how i was enjoying the warmth of my own bed a few nights ago, how i love the feel of my newly ironed linens. The flood came and is now gone but gone also are those lives lost, those broken things, those livelihoods washed in just a short time.What an irreversible horrible fucking thing.
The only consolation that keeps me appease is the fact that we're all safe and sound and together.
As i laid my back to rest i thought, how i was enjoying the warmth of my own bed a few nights ago, how i love the feel of my newly ironed linens. The flood came and is now gone but gone also are those lives lost, those broken things, those livelihoods washed in just a short time.What an irreversible horrible fucking thing.
The only consolation that keeps me appease is the fact that we're all safe and sound and together.
News aired about how our province had been badly stricken by the floods and that two more tropical depressions are in sight possibly to enter the Philippine area of responsibility in a weeks time or so, not to mention news on ill gotten wealth corruption and how some legislators stole people's money. How government projects were overpriced and how big the funds are that should have changed the way things were had they been served to good use. I can just stare. Humor Me.
I have thought how much i wanted to have a second floor, or a house in the hills, or a flood free country.. I slept in worry that the flood will come back before the night is even through. But Im too plasted and wasted and gone are the days i thought there's hope for this nation.
So God Bless Us. God Bless the Philippines.
Here are the pics after the flood. :)
Here are the pics after the flood. :)
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| Some random things piled above the double deck, this is because there are rumors that the tropical depression made a Uturn. Dang. |
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| No more water, but life isnt back to normal .Yet |
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| Organizing my clutter |
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| Cleaning the valuables with the little water that we can get. |
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| Those Blue Folders are My sister and my own diplomas from elementery and highschool grduation. They were soaked in flood after decades of safekeeping. |
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| Cabinets, Linoleum, and all else that will soon be garbaged. |
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| My parents room suffered the most casualties, from the clothes in the cabinets to this (not so cheap) mattress. |
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| In my trauma for the next possible flood, i bought a handful of these storage boxes on sale at the Pavillion Mall. |
