Ondoy, Part I: Caught Unprepared

26 September 2009. Saturday morning. It was raining, fine. We were planning to bring the kids to the dentist. My niece, Xandra, went to a school in Makati to teach little kids to swim. My other niece, Trisha, went to school - she has classes. Trisha's sister, Denise, went to some institution in Marikina for their school's outreach activity. Typhoon Ondoy was just Signal No. 1, anyway. Who knew it would later wreak so much havoc in Metro Manila and nearby areas?

The rain didn't seem to want to stop, so we cancelled our appointment with the dentist. Lunchtime, it was flooding inside the house. - just ankle-deep, but it was irritating. Xandra came home late afternoon - she said she walked through thigh-deep floodwater in Makati and got stuck for hours in traffic. Tricia came home soaking wet at past 6pm. Denise and her schoolmates were stranded in Marikina - they were in a rented bus. We all thought we had a bad day until we turned on the TV and realized that we were lucky to be in the comfort of our home, thank God!

People braving neck-deep water to go home to their families. Several families (with kids!) are trapped on rooftops - wet and had little or no food to eat. Others have no more houses, can you imagine? Let's all pray for those who had to endure Ondoy's wrath and hope that everything's going to be alright soon.