Yesterday was the longest and most exhausting day in my life, yet it also felt amazing in some way. At around 4AM, I was monitoring the conditions at home since my father was stranded in his hometown.
I was with our dog Max outside in the living room whIle Mama and Arashi were inside the room. I had to let her sleep since she couldn't sleep the night before because she was worried about the typhoon, especially because my father wasn't around.
Around 4:30 to 5:30 in the morning, the condition was tolerable. It flooded a little, but it's the usual. It would just subside when the rain stops. The wind was strong, but not as strong as 4 years ago when Cebu was devastated with a super typhoon. And since most trees in our area was uprooted that time, we didn't really have to worry much about trees falling.
At around 6AM, I took out the key for our gate and closed the door in our veranda.I was lying down on the sofa with Max on the floor. My mom and Arashi were sleeping then. I thought of taking Max out around 6:30 AM since the rain somehow stopped and the flood subsided.
However, at around six thirty, Max started crying. I got up and saw flood water in our veranda, it was ankle deep. And when I looked out the gate, I saw this scene...
The water outside was rising so fast... According to our neighbor, a wall got broken and fell on the well... the small river overflew... and the drainage was blocked by the newly constructed building and fence by the Chinese school, so the water couldn't flow freely as usual. In addition, there was a storm surge, so sea water plus river water from the mountains came pouring in. Our area is kind of low, so this suddenly happened.
I went inside , but closed the door in the veranda with Max because it'll be a problem if he meets Arashi in such a situation even though I feel really sorry for him.
I knocked on my parents' door and told mama that we have to move out fast. I'm so glad she remained calm despite the situation even though she's the panicky type. I told her I'd open the door and let her brace herself while carrying Arashi because the water from the living room would definitely rush in into the bedroom.
I guided her with Arashi, took her phone and we went out through the kitchen door. The water outside was already above waist level, so we struggled opening the door. Luckily, Kuya Roly, our neighbor, jumped over our fence to help us out. He destroyed the door... water came into the house immediately and I saw our refrigerator falling down.
I told Kuya Roly to assist mama and Arashi first and I'd just follow. I didnt have any slippers on, so I walked barefoot to follow them above ground.
When mama and Arashi settled above, I borrowed her slipper and went back to our flooded house to save Max. The water was already around my chest, but I didn't care. Kuya Roly and another neighbor, Ruben, asked me where I was going. I told them I'm getting Max.
They told me they'd follow me after helping the other neighbors out especially those with sickness and the elderly. I couldn't go back by the kitchen because the fridge and other appliances and sofa were already blocking the way.
Luckily, I still had my key with me. I hurriedly unlocked the padlock. Max was so pitiful. He was holding on for his dear life. Half his body was above the floating sofa, while the other was drenched in flood water.
I struggled opening the gate due to water pressure, so I'm glad that by that time Ruben and Kuya Roly arrived and brought us to safety. I also hurriedly took my tablet with me as we were saving Max. I still haven't paid for it, and I thought, I'd need it for blogging, and perhaps my personal classes. I wont be able to work for a while because my computer was drenched in flood water.
However, it didn't end there. While we're staying in one of our neighbor's place above, we saw people moving out because the water was rising and even the place we were staying wasn't safe anymore.
We hopped on a truck with other neighbors to seek shelter, but the roads were blocked, so we couldn't go. Then, Kuya Roly told us to go with him and his family as they were heading towards an apartment building nearby. It has 4 floors, so it's safer.
We stayed outside the apartment building because there were a lot of dogs. Max was okay but Arashi isn't used to it. I texted my best friend and asked for his help. He told me it's still difficult to get us because the roads were blocked, but as soon as possible, he'd help us.
My father also contacted our landlord and told her about the situation. She told us she's going to let us stay in one of her other buildings. It's still under construction, but it's liveable.
I waited and checked for possible help on the road. Max was with our neighbor, while Arashi and Mama were still in the apartment building's balcony. The apartment building was getting fuller and fuller with people and pets.
Then, Ate Melda (Kuya Roly's wife) told us to go with them. We're going to walk for a bit to her son's rented room. It's small, but we'll be safer there.
Mama carried Arashi, Kuya Roly took Max while I helped Ate Melda with some of the belongings they were able to save. CJ, her son, carried their small dog Dokyu.
The walk was around 15 minutes on foot, under the rain with flood here and there... but we were able to get there safely.
Once Mama, Arashi and Max kind of settled a bit, I decided to go with Ate Melda back to our flooded house. The rain stopped by then and the flood subsided a bit.
When we arrived, the water did subside but it was too muddy.
Everything was a mess, so I had to carefully move around the house to get what I can. All our cabinets were flooded, but I could get some of the clothes for mom that were hung. I was also able to get some important documents and money from their room.
My room was a mess, except for my bed. I couldn't get any of my clothes... My books were drenched, so are my some of my anime goods and art materials. However, I decided to get these...
I was able to get a couple of unopened sketchbooks as well, but they were also quite drenched with flood water. I could still use them. though. I thought, I'd still be able to use them to create artwork for my blog. This is going to be my main source of income for now.
After getting what I could carry (two backpacks full of stuff I we could still use), ate Melda and I walked back to her son's house. Mama also asked ate Melda to get food from the store, so we could share it. There were still canned goods, noodles, biscuits... and even ice cream despite the freezer floating around when it got flooded.
When we arrived at her son's rented room, I showed mama what we could save. We were able to get Max's food, but not Arashi's. Since I got some money, I decided to go to the market which was around 10 minutes away from where we were staying, but to no avail. I walked for another 10 minutes going to the usual place where we buy them, but it was also closed. Then I went to a convenience store to buy even some treats, but they were not open, either.
So, I just went back to where my mom was staying. I was with ate Melda the whole time, so I'm truly grateful for her. I couldn't get in touch with my father and my best friend because the connection was so unstable.
I decided to just go t our landlord's house. I've been there a couple of times with Papa every time he pays rent. Luckily, ate Melda's son has a motorcycle and he offered to take me since it's a bit far.
When I arrived there, the landlord welcomed me and told me her brother has been looking for us at our old place.I gave her the sketch of where we were staying, and she said she'll let her brother know since at that time, he was doing other errands.
We went back to Paul's place (He's ate Melda's son). When I arrived, my best friend was already there. He parked his car near our house and walked around, asking people where we were. Most of our neighbors recognize him since he frequents our place with his family.
He volunteered to take us to our landlord's place and to the house where we'll be staying. We had to walk back to his car. He carried all our belongs while mama carried Arashi and I took Max.
We offered ate Melda and her family to come with us, but she refused. They plan to go back to their place since their house was on a higher ground. They also volunteered to look after our place. We told them to just get what they need from the store and give away the ice cream to people who decided to go back.
I guess only our house along with 3-4 houses are still unliveable since muddy water still haven't subsided... and our landlord is planning to renovate it, so we have to stay here temporarily.
Going back to the story, we went to our landlord's place with my best friend. She called her brother to guide us to the place where we're staying.
It's by the road and it's quite big since it's going to be a pension house. The construction is still ongoing, but we could settle in one of the rooms.
I left mama with Arashi and went with my best friend to get some groceries and a mat to sleep on. The supermarket was open, but the queues were so long. I'm so glad my best friend drove me around.
After shopping for some stuff, we went back to our flooded house. I got some curtains and towels from the upper cabinet so we could sleep on them. I also took the air fryer my other bestie gave us last time in case the electricity went back.
My best friend also took my CPU. He's knowledgeable about these stuff, so he told me he'd try to save what he can from my PC. I also took some pillows and other toiletries we could still use.
The ice cream we got for my best friend's son today was still in the freezer, and ate Melda left it and only gave away the other stuff. She happily reported to us about it since she knew we saved it for my godson.
He took me home so I could help mom settle. He also had to go home. He couldn't even take her wife to and from work yesterday , but she told him to prioritize us too.
Later that night, he returned to our temporary place with his family. He got us some water for drinking and taking a bath, as well as some comforters for us to sleep on. We also got to see the birthday boy last night which made it extra special. after they went home, mom and I took a bath and ate. It was my first meal that day.
We got ready for bed... oh, our landlord told us we could use the bed from the other room, but it didn't have a foam or mattress, so we decided to just sleep on the floor for now.
That night, I got a lot of messages and calls from my cousins. They were all concerned about us. And my other bestie who's in the US, also kept in touch with us the whole time and even sent us some money for us to get started again.
It's going to be tough to start all over again, but with all the support and encouragement we got from the people around us, it's going to be okay.
I am so grateful for all the help we've received so far. And we'd be grateful to receive more encouragement and prayers from all of you. A little help would be much appreciated, too. (haha)
Anyway, my mom (@arashi0416) won't be able to post a lot of food and garden content since we don't have a working kitchen at the moment, and our garden was destroyed, but she'll try to continue with her journey here as well.
Sorry for this long post, but I just really wanted to share our experience yesterday. Now, we've kind of settled, but we're still waiting for my father since he's still stranded until now.
Some of our relatives are also planning on coming over to help with whatever they can... and my cousin and grandma back in the hometown were also trying to find some stuff, especially clothes for us to use.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see you around!
