Hearing the news and all, I felt so sad for all those flood victims in Metro Manila. It brought my memories back to December 2011 when Cagayan de Oro was flooded because of Typhoon Sendong. I can still remember the fear and the anxieties. I was still pregnant with my first baby during that time. I was really crying and so very afraid because the water was already knee-deep high. The flood aftermath was even worse. There's scarcity of food, water and other basic needs like clothing and shelter. There were so many victims left homeless and worst, some have even lost their love ones. There were so many casualties that there's no more space left to bury them all. There were shortage of casket and those dead bodies who were not identified yet was buried in mas grave. Kagay-anons during that time are however became united in helping each other. Good thing there were relief goods coming from other places from both government and private sector. But again, no material goods and even cash can ease the pain of those who survived yet lost some members of their families.
Picking up the pieces and starting all over again was not that easy. Some victims during that time has still have that trauma that whenever it rains harder, worries came in. I was one of them. We keep on moving from one place to another because we were once a victim and upon hearing the news about an upcoming typhoon, all those worst scenario flashes back. To date, there are still some who are missing. I am just hoping and praying that they were able to survive the flood.
It is really difficult to defy the wrath of nature. And who's to blame? Some says flood is a man-made calamity. Maybe yes. Because of our greediness, we tend to do anything even if it means destroying our nature. We compromise our natural habitat in favor of infrastructure development. Yes, it is true that people are becoming aware of our environmental situation that a Plant-a-Tree campaign was widely disseminated and practiced even in school. Students were tasked to plant a tree for their Community Service Project. But it will take long before it grows. Oh well, at least, a tree has been planted. I am just hoping that the local government here in Cagayan de Oro will come up with a city development plan wherein it will not compromise our environment. It would be a waste of time for those who will invest in big structures when it has been known that the city was once overtaken by what we call flash floods.
Let us not wait for another great flood to happen, we should do something before Noah will poke us and say,"I told you so..."
