The Wrath of Typhoon Sendong

I'm quite agitated right now thinking of what my family, relatives and friends went thru yesterday night. There was a typhoon and it got stronger at the wee hour in the morning. We don't have electricity, no water at that time so you could really tell it was pitch black outside our house, most especially to the areas affected. My in-laws were running for their lives. They fell, got wounded but they need to move forward very fast for the current of the water was so strong. My husband's cousin's 3 year old daughter almost drowned. But cousin was able to pull the tip of her daughter's shirt and escaped. My mother in law and brother in law were the first to arrive in our house around 1:30-2am. They live near us but their area was near the river bank. They both have fresh wounds on their legs. My husband later took his cousin and daughter but her cousin's son was nowhere to be found and so was my father in-law (FIL). Hubby kept checking if somebody saw them but no one could tell him. Until some rescue team arrived and help some families stranded on the roof of their houses. Hubby told them to help him find FIL and his 11 year old nephew. A few minutes later, the rescuer, who used raft to save people, arrived with the nephew but without my FIL. Although already informed that FIL was seen and found alive, hubby was not yet relieved until he sees and hold his dad. He again asked and pleaded to the rescuers to get his dad coz he was already 66 years old, quite old and he had been trapped for more than an hour.

Finally, FIL was rescued to everyone's relief. At least our family's complete. I called my mom and brothers to check on them and glad that they were safe at home.

My FIL found refuge at the electrical wire post. Good thing there was no current for that was a live wire.. The downside, people can't see a thing. FIL said that never in his life did he imagine to climb on a post but that time, he had to. He needed to save the life of our nephew and himself so he pushed the kid while he tried to climb. He then tried to reach for the wires and pull the kid to his side. Together, they both tried to sit on some parts of the wire and held on so tightly on the other wires. FIL never thought that they would be rescued. His only hope was for the flood to stop, the water to subside so that they could both go down. He was also praying that his families were spared. He never even thought that he could still celebrate Christmas. Other neighbors of his also did the same on the wire. It was very cold already and when nephew was rescued, it was only then that he felt tired. And when it was his turned to be rescued, he asked someone already to help him push forward as he was so very tired. But he was safe and that's all that matters.

His neighbor, who was a friend of mine, did not make it. She and her mom and dad were trapped inside their house. Somebody saw them tried to escape but I think because of the strong current, they were not able to open their house anymore. I was more sad to learn that it could have been her birthday today. She was a very sweet girl and very mestiza, too (she was of Spanish decent).

In another area, my first cousin and her sons tried to swim going to their neighbor's house. It was just about 3 doors away from their house yet the strong current hinder them from going to their neighbor's very fast. In fact, they were already trapped inside their house as they cannot open their door. They broke their window and destroyed it just to escape. When they reached their neighbor's house, they climbed on top, on the roof actually as not to be caught by flood. Thankfully, they were saved but my cousin could hardly walk. When the flood's over, she went to the hospital to get treatment but she was put on a wheelchair.

The scene in our place was devastating. It was horrible..monstrous. The flood came like a thief in the night. Rich and poor families experienced the same ordeal. It was sad. Our electricity came back yesterday afternoon but there's no water yet until this time. We tried to buy for water or get water from a water pump and another cousin offered also water to us. However, her place is quite far but still, hubby went there to get it for we badly needed it.

Thank God my family are safe. We welcome our FIL/MIL and relatives to our place. They are here with us now while their house needs to be cleaned. Some of their pets died but what is important is that they are all alive. In times like this, we only hold on to prayers. We will never know when our time is up. Many lives were lost but glad for those whose lives were spared...

I'm getting emotional now so I guess I'll end this post here.