Blog Post: Ondoy

Only Happy When It Rains…

Originally posted on Posterous.

September 26, 2009

Everyone who has parents must have those times when they’ll tell you something like and you’re like, “You’re so paranoid, Mom. I’ll be fine.” I have these issues with them a lot. They often like to regale me with stories about how this friend was mugged and I should be careful since it could happen to me (unlikely, cause muggers don’t normally target big guys who look like a terrorist who’s had a particularly bad day), or how that person contracted whatever disease or condition is being hyped by the media at that moment. You have no idea how much psuedo science I listened to about Swine Flu. I went to UP Diliman, and every time there was a rally, I got a lecture about the dangers of large crowds of people. When ever it starts getting cloudy, I get notes saying that it’s best I go home before it floods.

Well, Mom. Dad. I’ll give you this one.

Currently, I’m writing this while stuck in the office due to the epic flood that was brought on by our little friend Typhoon “Ondoy”. My Saturday started out fine, just a little rainy. I’ve had rainy days before. No big deal right? Despite my mother’s harping, for the most part, the Philippine sun will usually burn off cloud cover before lunch and everything is hunky dory again. And I’ve always managed to find rides home despite the rain.

Usually I get off the night shift, wait for the mall to open, get in a little shopping done, maybe catch a movie or hangout with friends. So looking at the pouring rain and believing today was a normal Saturday I said, “Fuck it” and agreed to help my friend with some of that requisite retail therapy. She had just gotten a new Macbook, and you know how that pristine white enamel gets people immediately thinking “I just dropped an obscene amount of cash on this thing. I need to protect it with more obscene amounts of cash.” So when she said “let’s go to Greenhills”, I said ok.

A good decision this was NOT.

We probably should have had a clue when we got to the tiangge and saw half the stalls still covered and the aisles deserted of patrons. Some stalls closed early when they realized that there weren’t going to be any customers today. All I thought at this point was this was pretty nice. We had the mall all to ourselves. I got a call from home, saying the water level was going up. I dismiss it. I always get calls from home with portents of doom. Our street and barangay tend to flood any time it starts drizzling, but the water usually tends to disappear in an hour or two. No biggie, fine, whatever.

The severity of the storm didn’t hit me till we started getting sleepy around 12 noon. We made for the Taxi line outside Vmall and nothing. What? There’s always taxis out here. Where is everyone? We go out front, and find the taxi queue there empty as well. There aren’t many FXs in the terminal, but there aren’t all that many people either. I though Gliner, right? Wrong. No buses pass by.

We walk down the front towards Unimart and ooo ooo! taxi right there on the curb! Why are all these people gathered here? Why’s the driver just standing there? Turns out EDSA corner Ortigas is flooded and no one can get by. Whachatalkinbout, Willis? It’s fucking EDSA!

We finally decide to take a jeep to Galleria. Not far, but since one of our group lives right there, at least she can go home. Ok. We learn the jeeps can’t make it across Edsa either. What? They stop right after La Salle, traffic already at a standstill. We hoof it from there and lo and behold, EDSA is indeed under water. It’s chest high in the middle of the street in front of POEA. Luckily, people can still stay high and relatively dry on the middle island. We still have to wade through the ankle deep water on EDSA itself, but that’s kind of fun.

When we get to Robinson’s, we’re still thinking “Hey, isn’t this a trip? We’ll have some story to tell on Monday, huh?” Our friend that tagged along leaves to walk home. “Bye! See you Monday!” That spirit of adventure lasts about as long as it takes to change out of our wet clothes and get a coffee at Starbucks. My friend and I sit down with her new laptop and BOOM. We realize the shit’s hit the fan. Our phones, which we haven’t really check since that call in Greenhills have several updates. Apparently the wall in Corinthian Gardens collapsed. My street isn’t just flooded, it’s chest high. So are parts of Pasig where my friend lives.

So we kill time. Around 6, we try the taxi line again. There are FXs going to Pasig now, my friend gets on one. Sigh. It’s all ok. Whew. My parents are proved wrong yet again. Hooray for the level headed.

Ok so my friend is on her way home. Time to sort me out. If FXs are running, GLiners should be too. You’d think I’d learn by now that this is WRONG. No GLiners. Guards in front of Robinson’s say nope, everyone’s walking. No buses, no FXs, no cabs will go to Cainta.

So here I am soaked to the bone, no where to go. A cabbie says that there are still jeeps going to Cainta over Eastwood way. The Cubao/Ever Ortigas route! Right! I get there. No fucking jeeps. Walk to Eastwood in the rain. Payphone? Cybermall, po. Payphone? Dun sa may CR, po. “All circuits are busy”. shit. “This subscriber can not be reached”. FUCK! Globe down. Hear Smart is too. Still hasn’t stoped raining. Another stranded dude tells me flood in Junction Cainta is fucking neck high. Shit. Can’t call home. Shit. Tells me he’s camping out at the office. Good idea. Cab? Ortigas po, Emerald Ave? Sige, po. Swell.

So back at the fucking office. Guard lets me in (which I hope to God he doesn’t get flack for). I log in to the Net and “Oh, shit”. I start reading the news. Night shift kind of warps your reality, and I tend to stop reading news at times. Now it all hits me. ‘Ondoy’ Intensifies into Tropical Storm. Record Rainfall. Floodwaters Submerge Metro Manila areas. Mayor of Cainta stranded on truck roof. Rescuers in Marikina stranded mid river. President takes trains, truck can’t make it. 46 dead in Rizal. HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

I still can’t reach anyone. None of the lines are working. Even if zombie phone hadn’t gotten wet and died on me, the networks are both down. Can’t contact either my friend, who went home, or my sister or parents in Cainta. They don’t know that I’m here at the office. My paranoid parents are probably worried out of their minds. I AM WORRIED OUT OF MY MIND.

Christ, let them be ok.