Morning News as of August 10, 2012, Friday Metro Manila, Philippines
Widespread flooding in the Philippines submerged Metro Manila as of today, leaving many distraught residents marooned on the roofs of their homes, awaiting rescue. The monsoon rains that flooded the rivers and most of the city’s streets, left thousands of the city’s inhabitants homeless.
In the outlying provinces, entire neighborhoods were evacuated as the water level had reached more than two meters high, making all streets impassable except for cargo trucks and rubber boats.
The government’s National Disaster Coordination Council is in a state of rescue mode, placing affected residents in emergency shelters, which are now overflowing with people in need of help.
I was reading this comment online, while having coffee in my room. I am one of the lucky few who lives in the metro, where the developer of the subdivision had the foresight to elevate the entire five acre subdivision within a few feet of the highway. On top of that, the subdivision administration prescribed a building ordinance years ago, that the house foundation of all residential units was raised one meter above street level. When my parents built the family’s residential bungalow, they complained about the added cost of raising the entire structure. There was no flooding in the area forty years ago, and they did not understand why the need to raise. But that developer’s foresight helped save this entire community from the onslaught of flooding, which is now being experienced by most residents of Metro Manila and outlying areas.
In the provinces, entire communities that were located near the Laguna Lake area were flooded with water that overflowed into the streets. The onset of devastating flash floods reaching neck-deep levels within a few minutes surprised many people. The degree of devastation of entire communities left everyone in a state of shock. This moving situation led the people of the neighborhood to have no choice but to climb to the roofs to save themselves.
The problem of flooding had always gripped the entire nation, during the rainy months from May to December. This is what is known as the rainy season, where typhoons prevail in the Philippines and monsoon rains wreak havoc across the nation. However, last week’s flooding was not caused by a typhoon, but by monsoon rains. The amount of rain and its ferocity moved the entire population. The devastation it caused was so great that it left close to a million people affected and relocated from their homes.
Filipinos are known to be a hardy breed and have tremendous stamina for great hardships. However, this exciting scenario cannot last forever. There is now a clamor for the National Leadership to find ways to better address the floods in the Philippines, which continue to plague the country every year. I hope that a workable solution will soon be found to help alleviate the suffering and misery of the entire nation.