August 2012
It’s raining cats and dogs here. While I’m typing this, rain has been pouring nonstop and many areas are already submerged in flood, families are being rescued and relocated to evacuation centers, and classes for tomorrow are being suspended one by one.
Aside from the leak on our bedroom from the ceiling, so far, we’re doing okay. But it doesn’t mean we’re just gonna sit here and do nothing. I want to be better prepared now than how we were during Ondoy.
Let me share the pictures back then.
Our screen door and blinds 😐 Yes, that’s our furniture. 😐Sorry for the quality. I was using my china-made mp4 player with camera. Some pictures are too small to post here so I didn’t include them.
We were fortunate enough that my uncle’s house has an upper floor. We were fortunate to have some food to share, even if it was just a couple of canned goods, a half-full rice cooker and clean water in bottles. Our neighbor helped us carry my grandpa upstairs, who was bed-ridden at the time.
Truth is, I’m scared. Everyone is. We don’t want another Ondoy (or Habagat or Yolanda). It was one of those hard times where we’ve seen people riding on big trucks because they want to go to evacuation centers for food, medicine and shelter. Traffic along Marcos Highway was bumper to bumper. A lot of people were walking. Vehicles were damaged. It felt like a scene off of The Walking Dead (the one with the road packed with cars).
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Disaster Preparedness
No matter how we long we do the sun dance, rain’s not gonna stop like that. The best thing we could do is to be prepared.
Here are some precautionary measures:
- Make sure we have supplies such as
- food, preferably those that don’t spoil fast and ready-to-eat like canned goods, bread, crackers
- clean water
- batteries and battery-powered radio
- candles and matches or battery-powered lamp and flashlights
- fan
- warm, clean clothes to wear
- first aid kit
- medicine for common illness and my grandma’s medication
- butane gas for our indoor cooking stove
- tissue, wet wipes, alcohol
- All gadgets should be fully charged as well as extra batteries and stored in a waterproof bag. In case your phone gets submerged in flood water, do not attempt to open it. Take off the battery, if possible, and bury both in a container with uncooked rice to absorb moisture.
- All mobile phones should have sufficient load in case of emergency
- Keep tabs on everyone’s situation (our family and my friends are scattered all over NCR)
- Park your car somewhere that doesn’t get flooded easily (during Ondoy, my uncle got stranded on his way back here. he parked the car inside the mall to avoid damage)
- When the flood water starts to get inside your house, unplug all appliances and turn off your electricity from the fuse box to avoid electrocution
Here are some important information for #GlendaPH:
Monitor current weather situation in real-time:
Important Twitter accounts to follow and contact numbers to take note:
- PAGASA-DOST for weather updates.
- GOV.PH
- NAIA-MIAA for flight-related announcements.
- MMDA for traffic situation / road blocks / flooding.
- City-specific announcements
- Caloocan (inactive)
- Las Pinas (FB)
- Makati
- call 168 for PLDT landlines
- 8701920, 8701923, 8701929 for other providers
- Malabon
- Mandaluyong
- Manila
- Marikina
- Muntinlupa
- Navotas
- Paranaque
- Pasay
- Pasig
- Pateros
- Quezon City
- San Juan
- Taguig
- Emergency Response Center: 165-7777
- Rescue Hotline: 623-5244
- Rescue Office: 0917-5503727
- Valenzuela
Time and again, I believe we should take care of our environment: dispose wastes properly and use eco-friendly stuff. This will help prevent waterways to get clogged, thus minimizing (if not eliminating) flooding in our community. Small things like this can also help our ozone layer, air quality, etc.
Students are probably happy that classes are suspended but do keep those who are very affected with the current weather situation in your thoughts and prayers.
“Be sensitive to each other’s needs – don’t think yourselves better than others”
Romans 12:16