Ondoy

I have been watching the news almost the entire day, and I am horrified at what I see. Water rising to second-floor levels, submerging houses and cars, forcing people to flee to their rooftops, where they wait for hours without food -- their fears that the water will rise further, increasing as the sun goes down.



We are one of the lucky ones. Despite the nonstop rains brought about by typhoon Ondoy, we are dry. Hubby remained vigilant throughout Saturday, checking for leaks. We live in an old house and by noontime, water had dripped here and there but Hubby kept it in check, even going up the roof to clear the downspout, opening up channels so that water could flow freely. Power was uninterrupted. We had cable and Internet. We later learned that water had risen chest-high at the subdivision's main gate, causing the perimeter fence to crash. As I said, we are one of the lucky ones.

I called my mom in Cebu to check how she was doing and was surprised to learn that it was sunny there. She had even gone for her early morning walk.

It's been years since I left Cebu to join my husband in Manila, but I am still amazed by the difference in climate between Luzon and the Visayas. With the Philippines located in the Pacific ring of fire, we are visited by typhoons, majority of which is intensely felt in Luzon.

Cebu seems to be blessed, although it has also suffered some 'freak' weather disturbances and more than its average rainfall in recent years -- which have all been attributed to global warming and climate change.

PAGASA Saturday reported that the last time that the country experienced such abundance of rainfall was 42 years ago --in 1967. What the country experienced in just five hours was rain it would normally get in a month, said the weather bureau.

And so, despite the fact that I am dry and comfortable, I feel a certain anxiety. PAGASA had seen the storm, but had not predicted the deluge, which had led to flooding -- literally turning EDSA and the North Luzon Expressway into a river and the Marikina River into a sea, where people had to wait for members of the National Disaster Coordinating Council to rescue them in motorized, rubber boats.

We ARE beginning to feel the effects of global warming and climate change. And though I try to live 'green', I really don't know if millions like me can stop what we have all set in motion. I can only pray that the next time Mother Nature strikes, it will be gently.

photo taken from bbc news