Typhoon & Flood

On September 27^th I had my first intense Typhoon experience. Shorty after boarding a trike to gather my laundry I received a text from a co-worker that said to get to work immediately and bring a disaster kit. As it's my second week at site, I had no idea that a “disaster kit” was or what might be in it. As my co-worker explained it's just a bag packed with clothes and toiletries for an overnight stay in the office. I was actually informed not to bring anything as I live so close to the office. I followed these instructions as I left for work, bringing nothing extra.

The day began slow enough at work. People were milling around, there was a new white board set up outside with Barangays listed, and my supervisor speaking into her cell phone. As co-workers flowed in, it seemed as they weren't alarmed by the situation, so I wasn't worried either. I was assigned to follow my Counter Part, Vanessa, to a few Barangays and inquire to see if any families had been displaced by the typhoon. Off we went, rain slanted by the wind, to check it out.

Some of the Barangays we visited indicated having displaced families, one had 40ish, another 25. We handed the Captains a grid paper to fill out that would detail each of the families. One of the last Barangays was rural and close to the river running through Cabanatuan City. It's one road going in was closely surrounded by raising water, but it wasn't quite over the edge. At the time it seemed as though the water had stopped rising, we came and went and no change could be told. As we returned to the office the roads were still being rained on but there was no sign of any flooding.

After getting back to the office I helped unload a truck full of emergency rations. We piled the boxes high into our office and then moved them once more to stage for repacking of rations. The wind at this point had picked up and had knocked out the power. The office was a cave with the boxes blocking the light from door. The repacking operation of rations had been at a stand-still at this point after staging as we were still without rice. A pile of half-ways prepared rations were awaiting the next step.

After about a half hour wait, one truck arrived with the rice. This was one full-sized dump-truck full of sacks of rice. Each sack weighing at 50 Kilos, the offloading never seemed to end. As soon as the first sack hit the staging area, and the string pulled from the sack, scoop after scoop were beginning to be poured. I settled into the production line, putting coffee and Milo (a chocolate mix, like Ovaltine), tying sacks, and stacking sacks. For two hours I sat in a sea of plastic wrappers and rice, tossing, tying, and moving. 

Soon enough it was five in the afternoon and I thought I could chance a trip home. I hadn't packed any change of clothes or any toiletries, and I wanted a nap, so it made sense at the time. Just as I packed my supervisor Came upon me and wanted to know where I was going. I told her home and she began saying it wasn't possible, the roads were far too gone. All I could remember from earlier was clear but rainy roads. I insisted that I go home and my supervisor gave in with a compromise, I could go home but only if I get a ride from a City Hall vehicle. She told me to wait for my co-worker Janet, as she had to leave shorty to distribute rations in a local Barangay. I said that was fine and sat at my desk.

After waiting in the office for Janet I finally asked her when we might be leaving. She told me it'd be another half hour wait. I doubted this immediately as what's on time in an emergency situation? As it turned out the truck arrived two hours later. As Janet collected me to hop on the truck I didn't know what was about to greet me in the parking lot. 

As I approached our dump-truck chariot, I finally saw what the typhoon had brought us, an all out flood. The steps surrounding the City Hall were now the banks of the local river. As I hadn't prepared in the least for the flood I was also not dressed correctly, I had pants and shoes. I had dressed like I was going to work, not like I was going to do some wading. Thankfully a friendly worker carried me to the passenger door of the truck, saving me a soggy fate.

After I got into the crowded cab of the truck, six crammed inside, we began our journey. It was slow going, just to get to the front gate of City Hall. To get to my home, you go left from the City Hall parking lot, that wasn't possible that night. The water was already three feet high, my hopes for a nights rest on my bed, a ten minute walk away from work normally, were dashed. I decided to continue on with my co-workers in their task for distributing rations at two Barangays.

The truck plowed through the water at a slow clip, the engine now partially submerged, throwing out a low wake. I couldn't believe how deep it was, it got to three and a half feet deep for huge stretches of road. Plowing through the water with us were other smaller SUVs and the occasional brave trike. The streets edges were lined with people clinging to trikes and store fronts, the water past their knees. Some store fronts were flooded, Jollibee and McDonalds were also effected. We had to make it out to two Barangays that were, as I found out, far away. Our slow paddle boat action made the trip drag on. It would have been boring but for the flood all around us.

We made it to both the Barangays with little trouble, just slow going. The trip back was around one in the morning, I was hoping to curl up on a couch in the office once we got back. Another change of course occurred when we made it back to the final stretch of road before City Hall. This was the same area that we had started in and was also one of the deepest. As we approached, the driver decided it wasn't a prudent idea to try. Another truck of the same make was deserted in the water on the same stretch, facing the same direction.

Right about this time I checked out. I was tired and I was having a hard time sitting in the cramped back. I was able to lay down behind the front seats and make myself comfortable. After maybe an hour the truck's engines finally went quiet as everyone in the cab settled into sleep. There I was, only a five minute walk from my work, sleeping in the back of a dump-truck, in flood water.

We finally reached the City Hall the next morning, even though the water didn't look any lower. We had to change dump-trucks, our first one was ready for a shift change. The cab for the second dump-truck was already full when we flagged it down from the street. I had to clamber into the actual bed of the truck alongside a rescue team and their inflatable raft (called “rubber boat” here, this bothers me). The ride was quick and triumphant. I was so happy to finally be back on dry land.

As it stands right now, the water is receding. I've been back home and thankfully none of my belongings were destroyed. My house had flooded and it was substantial, knee height in the living room, mid calf in my room. I never saw water in my house though, it was my Host Family that had to deal with the whole mess. They told me they moved everything they could up off the floor and then just waited. They had to sit on the backs of seats as the seat portion of chairs were covered by an inch or so of water. All night they sat there and the following morning they watched the water slowly recede. As soon as they had a chance they began cleaning. I never saw the full mess, with dirt up the walls and all over the floor, as my family takes serious pride in their house. The house looked almost better than I'd left it, although none of the sockets work now, or the fridge. The night I spent back in my bed was great, I was knocked out by nine.

It's day three now, 9/29/11 here. I was able to walk to work with no problems. The river nearby is still very high, only a foot below the bridge that crosses it. The roads are covered in rocks that were pushed there by the floodwater. A displaced water tank can be seen hanging into the road. I think we're on the recovery side of this event.