It’s been roughly two weeks and I am finally feeling better. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get anxious when it rains. Here’s our story during the recent flooding in Central Luzon.

August 7, 2012

We packed our stuff downstairs to put in one of the rooms at the second floor past noon. Unlike during Ondoy, where the flood water was already at our doorstep at the same time frame, we were ‘relaxed’.

We were watching the news and my laptop is open to monitor twitter updates, when we were taken off the grid around 3pm. By 5pm, we were done moving our things.

I was having a hard time sleeping. Aside from not able to do anything since it’s dark and there’s no electricity, I was anxious.

August 8, 2012

I woke up very early (5:30am) considering I had barely slept. After saying my prayers, I checked the flood outside.

Still flooded :3

It was one of those rare times that most of the household is up at this hour. My uncle told me the water did came inside but it was like 4-5 inches only. Still, it left an icky feel and smell to the floor.

After having breakfast, I used my free time to read a book. I got absorbed into reading that I ate bread past 1pm. After taking a bath, I told my brother: “Tara, punta tayo kay mama” (let’s go to mama’s place). *funny I took a bath then I was to expose myself in flood water lol* Mama (my eldest aunt) lives in San Roque, Marikina just off the Marcos Highway. I prepared a backpack since we will be getting food from her house.

For someone who stands 5’5″, the water level that time when we walked was halfway my thighs. Our 7-10 minutes walk became more or less 30 minutes. Finally we reached the village’s entrance.

When we finally got out of the village (Marcos Highway)

Flood was nowhere to be seen. It was still isolated in the Vermont Park/Filinvest-Kingsville area. Since there were limited PUJs, we opted to walk. When we got to mama’s, the water level was below my knees. We helped her clean the small garage, had lunch, and charged our gadgets. We dropped by the supermarket (where my brother left my umbrella :/) and Jollibee on our way.

Funny too that people are still judgmental with my outer appearance considering the flood, the rain and the amount of things we had to carry. My hair and shoulders were wet, my big backpack is covered in plastic, I  had to carry a plastic containing food and I was wearing for-home clothing.

Anyway, this is the scene in front of our village (around 7pm):

My concern wasn’t about walking in the dark, we can manage, as long as we walked in the middle of the road. I was thinking what if there was a snake somewhere, like what our uncle told us when he was planning to go home during Ondoy (he got stranded with his car a few kilometers away, opted to park the car somewhere safe and walk home). All the way, I was praying until we got home.

I used up all my phone’s power to monitor tweets and message my friends, as well as listen to the radio.

August 9, 2012

This time my brother wanted to go to our mom’s house in Sta. Elena, Marikina City. We waited for the flood to subside a little. Since it doesn’t seem like the water was subsiding, so by 9am, we were out of the house.

The flood in our village is still connected to the flood in the highway. See the 4×4 blue car in the picture above? He let us ride with him up to McDonald’s Marcos Highway. Thank you sir for your kindness!

Arriving at our mom’s apartment, it didn’t feel like there was flooding outside or electricity was down since it looked like an ordinary weekend (that is, considering they live near the Marikina River). My ninang goes out every now and then to check the water level. Mom gave us Miso soup and skinless longganisa for lunch with the avocado with milk for dessert. By 3pm, ninang cooked goto and tokwa.

Andaming pagkaen kayna mami @_@

We went our way home around 5pm and was able to catch a ride via jeepney. For a moment, it looked like everything was back to normal: a lot of people in the streets, no flood, establishments serving customers. But when we alighted the jeepney, here’s what we see:

The water was halfway my legs and a few inches above my feet halfway to our street.In front of our house, it was already dry.

Credits to the creator.

We were just one of those who were affected and I know it may not compare to what our fellow Kababayans have experienced. Some lost their houses and sadly, some lost their loved ones. I hope and I pray that people are in a better situation now.

I won’t pass the opportunity to salute to those who risked their lives to save the families stranded, those who braved the floods to give food to the hungry and those who went out of their way to donate/volunteer for these efforts. May God continue to bless you with good health and sound minds.

——-

Walkathon in Flood

It’s been long since I walked far distances but even if I was starting to not feel well, I was able to walk as far as I can. We had minor accidents along the way to our mom’s house: my brother’s left foot slipped down the part of the road under construction and me slipping on the slippery road :3

Here’s a map to our walkathon (which I wonder how many km did I walk and how many calories did I burn lol)

How about you? Were you affected by the flood? Did you have to stay in an evacuation center? Share your stories. Good bless everyone! :’)