Tropical Strom Ondoy  (international name Ketsana) which battered and wreaked havoc to Metro Manila and parts of Luzon on Saturday morning morning September 26 , has affected more than 1.8 million persons and 320,000 families.

The whole Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna and Rizal were the most affected by the massive floods and was flooded ,paralyzed with multitudes of people swimming in more than 7 feet of water at low lying places such as Marikina and Cainta.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council reported that 240 people died in the National Capital Region. Meantime, at least 37 people remain missing. 

In Metro Manila, over 100,000 people from over 900 barangays were evacuated after incessant rains caused heavy flooding in Manila, Marikina, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Valenzuela, San Juan and Quezon City. Flood water in some areas have already reached the second and third floors of buildings, forcing residents to seek refuge on the roof of their houses. A total of 50 road sections were also left impassable to vehicles due to raging flood waters, leaving several commuters stranded.  

The Philippines gets to be visited by powerful tropical storms annually and yet this particular typhoon brought so much devastation. It came so fast that people did not have time to react. Immediately the waters rampaged through homes and buildings that scurried people to rooftops waiting for help in the cold rain. Too much water too soon exacerbated all the more by the clogged waterways and the mud that came along with the water, brown and murky seeping through every nook and crany and pummeling cars one on top of the other like matchboxes. As if mother nature wreaked its fury since she has been long since neglected and environmental issues were never a priority.

People globally watched on the internet and cable stations the videos of thousands of individuals caught in the turmoil of survival. Relief efforts were needed drastically but as in any calamity , government and private sectors were overwhelmed by the massive disaster efforts needed to be deployed with limited manpower and resources at hand. Immediate families need to be contacted. Victims had to be rescued. The survivors had to be rehabilitated. The people who felt the wrath of the typhoon remained in shock for several days. Food, clothing, medicine, water and temporary shelter needed to be deployed at once.

But knowing the indomitable Filipino spirit, thousands of volunteers came out to save and nurture the less fortunate. Out of this tragedy comes the very one thing that the Filipinos are known for- the spirit of unity and self sacrifice for the needy- something so rare a commodity in this world where one is preoccupied with individual needs. Rich countries have the resources to respond to emergencies but third world nations like the Philippines, it becomes the sheer voluntary will of the people and its citizenry to support his or her countryman no matter what happens at the hour of his greatest need.

Long term rehabilitation is underway and the tragedy would be if we forget the lessons brought by typhoon Ondoy. We lost many lives and suffered a huge loss on property but most of all the emotional toll to thousands of people needing to rebuild again.We have to respect and not trash our environment and clean our waterways. We have to be prepared with rescue teams and evacuation equipment.

With the dawn of global warming , the question is as a country of 7,100 islands visited by tropical storms ever so often , when will we ever be ready to face the next typhoon in our lives?