By now, most of the world knows about the tropical storm Ondoy/Ketsana and the havoc it has wrecked on the Philippines. Much of my extended family lives in the metro Manila area, including my uncle, aunts and countless cousins. My grandpa, who lives stateside with us, can’t recall a time when flooding was as bad as that.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rembcc/
My uncle, who lives in my grandparents’ house in Quezon City, a city near Manila, called a couple nights ago and told us that the house was flooded and they didn’t have power.
Eventually, we learned that the basement was completely submerged and the main level was under 6 inches of water. The guest house, where one of my great-aunts lives was also submerged. Thankfully, everyone (including random cousins, dogs, maids) was safe.
Unfortunately, others weren’t so lucky.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rembcc/
I found this heartbreaking photo on Flickr–it’s a woman’s body, half-submerged in the mud in the aftermath of the storm. The small backpack she was carrying hides her face. The even worse part is that right after the photo was taken, the woman’s backpack was looted (according to the photog).
I also like how this stuff happened like 2 days ago, and now the world news media decides to report on it? Interesting. The storm was bad–some reports have compared it to Hurricane Katrina (also ironic, President Arroyo is also getting criticized for how the government handled the disaster).
My uncle said some of our family didn’t have much time before the water rose to save their clothes, so I’m going through my closet now and packing a box to send over there. I’m doing my part to help out. Do yours! Check out the Red Cross Web site for ways to help.
JESS IS MORE 