This storm might not be prove to be the strongest one in the recent decades, but it sure left great damage leaving everyone startled and unprepared. Oh wait, maybe it was since 1967.
After our semestral feedback giving session, we experienced a black out, and it was only then that calls for help along Pentecost and Marikina were heard and heeded. Being the older ones, our theologians responded to the call of going to Katipunan and Barangka to reach out and help in the affected areas. Meanwhile, we collegemen were instructed to do 3 things :1) keep track of the radio reports, 2) help in the kitchen to prepare food not only for the community but also for those where we will reach out, and 3) secure the house by checking the open windows, bringing in things that could get wet due to the heavy rains.
Before doing so, we decided to go up the fourth floor, and lo and behold, we saw a sunken Marikina. Seen from that point where we were, we saw that almost half of Riverbanks was submerged. All of us were startled, surprised that the rain that continued to pour for more than 12 hours has brought this.
Afterwards, we then decided to get the job done. We agreed on several radio shifts and take down notes just to see what areas are heavily affected, what do we need to know from the government, and any other information that might be helpful as we stand by. We learned that along the expressways both North and South, there were hundreds of vehicles stranded and areas submerged. Various places in the Metro were badly affected, and people are actually calling radio stations just to search for their loved ones.
Also, we were able to pack up old but usable clothes, which were sent through the theologians responding to the call in Barangka. We stood by until 9:00pm, for we were called to rest just in case anything would come up early in the morning .
All of us woke up late at Sunday, thankful that there was no more grave situation called for. I peeked in the window and saw Marikina still with waters, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard rescue choppers in the sky. While the theologians helped out in cleaning the house of the Paulinian Sisters in Barangka, we cleaned our house and checked if there were any damages caused by the heavy rains (we discovered that there were two areas with very minor leaks). We also took over portering assignments as we kept watch over the battery-powered radio for new updates concerning the storm. There was still no electricity in the seminary, since we are connected to the Barangka line, and the power can't be turned on because people would be electrocuted, since the waters were still quite high. So during the afternoon, we went to the college campus to charge our laptops and cell phones, for we think that they will be useful later on.
After hours of charging up, we thought of going to McDonald's in Katipunan to have dinner. We spent the rest of the time playing Call of Duty as a way of relieving ourselves from all the pressures brought about by the typhoon.
I woke up early morning of Monday and was glad that electricity finally returned in Barangka. I also peeked through my window and saw land (very much like the Noah experience) in Marikina. We spent Monday morning resting and saving up on energy, while the afternoon was spent for the Task Force Ondoy, held in the Ateneo CovCourts. We caught up with some of those we know and helped in packaging clothes to be deployed to the affected areas.
The next day was supposed to be a day for studying, as we expected that there will be classes starting Wednesday. However, during the afternoon, it was announced that there will be no classes until Saturday. Instead, students are to make up for classroom hours by helping in the relief operations. So during the afternoon, we already proceeded to the covered courts, even reaching up until 12 midnight. Not only did we do the usual packaging and taking part in the assembly line, but we also helped out in deployment of goods in different areas. We also helped shut down the operations by 12mn, which will resume the next day at 6am.
Wednesday was very different for us, as we went to Calumpang, Marikina to check on our blockmate whose house was submerged in the floods. We helped out in cleaning the house, and we delivered goods not only to their family but to the neighbors as well. Indeed, bayanihan at its best. After resting for a while in the afternoon, we went back at about 930pm to deploy goods in a far-flung Novaliches area (which were unfortunately left unnoticed by their government officials) and to Barangka, Marikina. We turned over the goods to the San Jose Manggagawa and then headed straight home to San Jose Seminary.
If you thought that this was already hardcore, then Thursday became a tougher day for us. During the morning, we went down to Provident Village and drove by the mud-filled areas in order to reach the Holy Family Chapel and do some clean up there. It was literally a mud party. We went down to the streets, made our way through thick layers of mud until we reach the chapel. Using simple cleaning materials and a single hose, we cleaned up the floor of the chapel, washing the mud away. We finished at about 11:00pm, though we weren't able to get the job fully done because we really can't do using those simple materials (it's even a good thing that 2 shovels were donated to us, but it really didn't do much because we lacked the water to wash all the mud away). We paused operations for a while to give way to AdMU-UE game 1 (which ended with a victorious note for us, fortunately) and the SJS Community Mass with the Carmelite sisters at Gilmore to celebrate the feast of St. Therese. We just spent the rest of the night resting and praying the rosary with the hopes that the next typhoon won't hit that hard, and this is our way of closing our full-time relief operations, for we would be busy for the next two days.
Well, perhaps there were still a lot to do, but I believe that we did all we can to at least extend a little help to those affected by the floods. And perhaps that after all these, all that we can do now is to pray for those hit by Ondoy. This flood had shocked us and left us unprepared, and all we can do now is to lend a hand even a bit.
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