Anybody who has been watching the news this past weekend is well aware that a real disaster has struck Metro Manila and the surrounding area. Tropical Storm Ondoy passed over Luzon, to the North of Manila, but the Manila area really got the brunt of the rain. Ondoy was not a Typhoon, but short of it. However, it really packed a punch when it came to rain!
The rain in Manila on Saturday was actually even worse than New Orleans experienced during Katrina several years ago. In just a matter of a few hours, the Manila area got more than 16 inches of rain on Saturday, and more than 80% of the area was under water at the worst. Even as I type this on Sunday evening, the majority of Metro Manila is still under water. So far, 75 deaths have been confirmed from the flooding, with the number expected to rise substantially when the final figures are known.
On Saturday morning, I had heard that there was bad flooding in Manila. However, flooding in Manila is not an unusual event, it actually happens regularly. So, when I heard about flooding there, I really did not think too much about it. By Saturday afternoon, though, I switched the TV on and flipped over the ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel) which is sort of like a local version of CNN. As soon as I saw the news, I was shocked at what I was seeing. The streets were like rivers! Not only rivers, but some of the streets looked like places for white water rafting, with rapids moving through the streets.
I saw one video taken from a bridge in Marikina City, one of the hardest hit areas, in which you could actually see dozens of people being swept through the water under the bridge. The people on the bridge were actually throwing ropes to the people in the water, but they were moving by so fast that it was virtually useless.
The Philippine Government, and also private citizens in the area have mobilized a huge rescue effort. Just like we saw during Katrina, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of people up on their roofs in the Manila area, because it is the only place where they can be to avoid the water. Private companies and the government also are flying helicopters into neighborhoods and plucking people from their roofs. When you watch the events on ANC, people are using their cell phones to call the News Channel and plead for rescuers to come and get them. It’s really a sad situation.
According to the TV stations, this is the worst flooding that Manila has experienced since records have been kept. Seeing the video of the city, I believe that too.
A good friend of mine had been visiting in Manila for a few days, and was supposed to fly back to Davao on Saturday, but the airport was closed. All flights in and out of Manila had been canceled. He went back to the re-opened airport on Sunday, and there were 450 people in line in front of him, but he was able to get a late flight back to Davao.
If you are in a position to assist financially for the victims of this disaster, there are a number of things you can do. I called the American Red Cross and confirmed that if you wish to donate cash, you can donate through the Red Cross in your country, and you should specify that the funds are for the “International Response Fund” and specify that you want it to go to Philippine flood victims. If you prefer, you can donate to the Philippine Red Cross, but it would be easier for you to use the Red Cross (or Red Crescent) in the country where you are currently located. I am quite sure that any donation toward this disaster would be most helpful. A lot of people are suffering in the Philippines right now.
Hi Bob, I was wondering if you would report on this awful happening in Manila and far out through Luzon. It's almost surreal viewing the footage, and so painful to imagine the added hardship that this has caused for so many people. More landslides are sure to follow, and threats of more rain loom. For anyone interested in making a donation, another toll-free number is available to "Donation Ondoy" 800-527-2820.
Prayers for all are needed to.
Hi Bob – Yes, the worst flooding in Manila ever recorded. I "ain't no expert," so my layman's observation is elementary.
It's easy to overlook the forest for the trees. While not as bad as this past weekend, and not in the same exact location each time, Manila has been flooding during each rainy season for well over 100 years. (A soldier from my home town in the USA was lost to a flood in Manila back in ~1901.) The same can be said for many locations in the Philippines.
While vast "reaction" occurs for each flood with wonderful neighborliness and team work helping to make sure people and possessions are safe and clean-up is effected, one need seems to be forgotten – "proactive" steps to lessen the impact of storms before they happen.
There's always going to be some annual flooding in some area of the NCR, but it doesn't have to be severe. Right after one storm is a great time to start the preventive measure-taking for the next. It starts with barangay officials & people, supported by municipal and provincial governments, and funded by the Philippine government.
As has been written elsewhere in the e-zine, however, change doesn't occur very quickly here. We're due to see more severe effects of flooding again in the future. 🙁
Hi Paul, Of course that is all true, but I think that the severity of this tragedy is particularly horrible for many people.
Bob;
This was the worst I’ve ever seen, I’ve been stuck at home because of the flooding (small price to pay), here in Bataan and Zambales, and I’ve had my Son-in-laws family, who’s house was flooded staying with me, yesterday and today they are checking on their house and cleaning up.
My heart goes out to the people in Manila; we suffered little compared to them. The opening of the floodgates on the Dam added to the problem in Manila, but to not do so could have been a disaster, if the dam had given way.
Senator Gordon (Head of Philippines Red Cross) has been doing his best to help, hats off to him. This is a country with strong people, whom I know will fight their way back, as they always have in the past when calamity strikes. My respect is for them!
Hi Paul T, My sentiments too. I was wondering too about how you and your family had come through it. I'm glad that you're all OK. I was although thinking about Dave and Mita Starr and family in Bulacan. I hope they're OK too.
Hi Paul – I do believe that this flooding was not the normal, this was way beyond the regular flooding that Manila expects.
Hi Paul – I'm glad to know that while uncomfortable being stuck at home, you are alive and well.
Kamusta ka Bob,
Well except for the internet..you would have never known about the Typhoon here in the USA, except about 3 lines in the local paper on the 3rd or 4th page.
I just happen to be dropping off my balikbayan box at my box agents house, and he and his wife had The Filipino Channel on, and it was showing the same footage you described about the bridge, and people holding onto debris and being swept under the bridge.
My heart and my prayers go out to all that are affected by this all.
Take care,
Danny
Hi Bob
The coverage here in Vancouver is sketchy at best. One report says there are 35 provinces affected but doesn;t say which ones…
do you know which provinces are affected and how badly???
I have already phoned the Red Cross here in Canada and gave them my donation. They were more than OK with me specifying where it was to go.
Thanks for the information…it helped me make my donation go to the right place.
I will pray for all of my friends in Manila and for those I do not know as well.
Regards
Tyleen
Hi Bob,
I couldn't believe what I saw in the news about the flood that is happening right now in the Philippines especially in Marikina. My wife has two brothers and their families that lives in Provident Village which was one of the areas that was severely affected by the flood and had to wade chest high water to safety. The other family climbed to the roof of the house and was rescued after 12-hours. Thank God all were safe. The Filipino channel mentioned there were 18 deaths in Provident Village alone but my wife just talked to them and was told it's now 58 and might even rise. I remember the last time Marikina & Provident Village was flooded during a storm was way back in the late 1970 (can't remember the exact year) but it was not as bad as this one. Provident Village is located right next to the Marikina river bank and separated by a cemented dike that is as high as the roof of single story house. It didn't prevent the water from coming in just like Katrina. In this case, the dike held but the water overflowed.
My prayers goes to all not just my families.
Hi Queeniebee – My words were not intended to belittle the tragedy that is ongoing at the moment. My wife and I have already started sending aid to relatives and close friends in Manila who have endured quite a weekend and lost much. Too bad we can't send it to more, but our resources are limited (at the end of the month). Our prayers are all we can provide.
What I intended was to give notice that yet other tragedies, perhaps larger than this one, await the public in Manila and surrounding areas. A lot goes into the fixing of the last tragedy, but hardly anything goes toward prevention of the next one. 🙁
There isn't a rainstorm that passes thru Manila that doesn't provide flooding scenes for TV newscasts. Plus, sorry to say, Manila is in the typhoon belt and feels the effects of the annual monsoons. I only hope that something preventative & preparative is done before the next tragedy.
Happy to hear you're fine, just having some floods. A fellow with your experience should be used to being surrounded by water.
Hope your extended family members find things not as bad as what's being reported, and they remain safe.
Hi Bob
Thanks for the update.
But tell me what is NCR ??
I just watched the news and they say that the death toll will rise sharply once they are able to get an accurate count from the outlying areas.
It is truly heartbreaking.
I seldom hear news about The Philippines on commercial news outlets here in the New York area but this disaster in Manila is generating news reports worldwide. Most news and other information for The Philippines I have always obtained here on the internet.
After wiewing this dissaster from the many videos on Youtube I can not recall ever seeing Van and SUV type vehicles just floating in the streets colliding with eachother uncontrolably as if they were bumper cars at an amusement park. In this case it is definitely not amusing. I feel very sorry for all of those affected, so many of them may have had so little to begin with and now have nothing.
Bob,
My heart goes out to the flood victims. I am from New Orleans and lived through Katrina. In some ways it is the same so many homes flooded and people on top of roofs being rescued but in many ways it is much different because the flooding here (in new orleans) did not come from rain. This brings back many hard memories for me the suffering so many go through and they never count that on the news.
Hi Bob – Here are a couple of links that are notable. The first discusses another typhoon heading toward northern Luzon in about four to five days.
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Stor…
The second is a _Manila_Bulletin_ editorial in today's business section that takes my earlier positions and supercharges them.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/222336/wakeup-call
End of season storms are usually the worst. I hope and pray that this next storm, which is currently near Yap and headed our way, takes a northerly turn prior to the islands.
I've been without Internet for a bit more than 24 hours, so I haven't been able to post any updates on PhilFAQS or attend to our email, sorry. I just got back on line a few minutes ago and there was a note from Bob telling me people had been expressing concern. Thanks to all. Mita and I are fine. We were in Zambalaes (near Subic) when the storm hit Manila but there was still way too much water on the roads there to set out on the trip home so we stayed over Saturday night with freinds.
Got back Sunday AM, out home and our nieces, Ian and Gia are fine, likewise Mita;s family whio live nearby. People perished in Arrayat, Pampamga on route home from Zambales and in Boucaue (where the North Luzon Expressway was closed for some time) and right here in Marilao where the river jumped it's banks, but as the news is correctly reporting, the majority of the problems are in the NCR.
The rains were perhaps the strongest ever known, many areas that have never flooded before just filled up like a bathtub. It just overcame all the 'ways out' for the water and it is going to take several more days for everything to be back to normal. More rain is in the forecast.
The Red Cross is an excellent place to donate, you can also go to http://www.abscbnfoundation.org … ABS-CBN one of the big TV/radio networks here is doing fantastic work, physically collecting and distributing relief supplies, they can take donations world-wide.
Be patient in trying to contact anyone and don't plan on going anywhere in Metro Manila for several more days. Shopping malls, schools and colleges are mainly serving as evac shelters and many businesses are, of course, not working at normal capacity.
If you want to ship physical things, there's a great need for clothes and school supplies … many people lost everything, touched may heart last night when a little boy started crying in the middle of an interview because his school notebook, careful saved up for all year, was gone. You don't need to worry about sizes or any other concerns, just get a balikbayan box and pack it to the brim with school notebooks, paper, pencils, underwear, shorts, t-shirts, rubber shoes. non-melting candy, a few cans of Spam or Dinty Moore stew, etc.
Haven't had a chance yet to talk to my friend Manny Paez, but he usually runs discounts on box shipping for worthy causes, you can call 1-800-210-1019 and make arrangements to have boxes picked up at your door, anywhere in the USA. Believe me, there will still be people who need the clothes by the time a box gets here.
Again, thanks for the outpouring of concern I see here and all is well here at "Blog Central Bulacan".
Hi Bob,
Just got back from an out of town trip. I heard there was flooding in Manila but I did not know the extent. I was really surprised to see just how bad it is. My wife has had no contact with her brother yet. We do not know if the lines are down or what. We are praying for him and his family's safety in this time. Though we only have a few more days before we come for vacation, this kind of event puts a somber side to it. Thank you for your update.
Has anyone heard from John Miele since this has happened. I know he was back in Manila.
Thanks Bob,
Finally able to reach her brother tonight (early morning for you guys)! He is fine. A little wet but fine. Thanks for the info.
Dear Bob
First I would like to thank you for posting what really happening in the Philippines presently. That tragedy is not expecting that in just a click it happen. I am so very grateful that even though my families live in diverse place inside and outside of Metro Manila they not know-how the experience of our countrymen in the other place of the city. It’s so dreadful to think that after 42 years it happen again and now a lot of them crying, begging, fighting for any possible help and thoughts how start all over again. To all my kababayan a minute of entreaty is a big help to give them strengths to hold on and look forward to move on
Thanks
Dear Bob
First I would like to thank you for posting what really happening in the Philippines presently. That tragedy is not expecting that in just a click it happen. I am so very grateful that even though my families live in diverse place inside and outside of Metro Manila they not know-how the experience of our countrymen in the other place of the city. It’s so dreadful to think that after 42 years it happen again and now a lot of them crying, begging, fighting for any possible help and thoughts how to start all over again. To all my kababayan a minute of entreaty is a big help to give them strengths to hold on and look forward to move on
With best regards
Marko Polo
Thanks for your comment, mark.
Dear Bob
It’s been a days before I received a txt from my sister living in Cainta, Rizal one of the most awful places that flood came into. And finally just today morning I receive info from her and her whole family that everything is passable. But nevertheless there is so much to be done we do our part to gather around for help out to collect anything that they can use temporarily so in that small way of assistance we feel them that we love our kababayan so much even though were apart from them because we feel what they feel.
Best Regards
I agree with Paul. Once the clean up is accomplished it is time to work on prevention. Yes, this maybe one of the worst, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure………i2f
Hi Mark – Glad to hear that you got word from your sister! That's good news.
Hi! Bob,
I was so saddened w/ this news and it reminds me also of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, we here in HK started to collect donation from OFW's but we are lucky coz my family in BATANGAS are all fine, my mother told me that Batangas are not affected by the flood since our place was on the higher ground but it's still raining though.
Hi Wildcat – Good to know that your family made it through the storm safely. It sure is sad, though.