Buendia Avenue, Makati City, Philippines (Photo from Skyscrapercity.com)
26 September 2009 – While working, our office is being bombarded with nature’s fury as Tropical Storm Ondoy unleashes his full fury in Philippines’ capital Manila. While we were busy taking calls, he was busy creating havoc and destruction in Manila that would make Filipinos shocked and awed with nature’s awesome power.
1 PM – Dismissal. The company would like to have their employees be safe at their site, so it was recommended that they wouldn’t leave the premises and would be given food. I decided to just leave since I was so worried with my family in Cavite. I ate a heavy meal before launching a journey in which I would never ever forget in my lifetime. Location: Market Market, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
2.30PM – Got an approval from my trainer but he reminded me to update him and at the same time, stay safe. I took the Fort Bus from Market Market in Fort Bonifacio Taguig. The driver said that the floods have subsided in some parts but EDSA was still a virtual parking lot for south bound vehicles.
2.45PM – I reached Ayala-EDSA corner. EDSA was at standstill for south bound vehicles while north bound was virtually empty. I tried to ride on a Cavite bound bus but after 15 minutes, I left and diverted to Ayala Avenue towards Buendia. For I thought that there would be an easier way up there going out of Makati through Buendia-LRT and Pasay.
3.00PM – I started walking from Ayala-EDSA through Greenbelt and Glorietta. Some shops were closed. Ayala Avenue was in the field of desolation. It was my first time seeing Makati CBD battered by a storm.
While walking the elevated walkway from Greenbelt to Rufino, Ondong unleashes again his missiles of rain and gusts. I was getting wet, but no bother…I stopped over at a 7-11 convenience store to buy me an energy drink. My motive was to at least walk all the way to Baclaran. And so I went off all the way to Makati Med.
4.00PM – The sky was sinisterly dark and rains still pour as if Chino Roces/Pasong Tamo was flooded. So, I passed through the shanty community near Makati Med which leads toward Buendia. Upon reaching Buendia, I was happy to see that there is a Buendia bus bound for Baclaran but thought why there are no Ayala bound buses around. And so I rode in the bus which was in a standstill for 30 minutes of no movement at all…I paid yet I left the bus afterwards. To my surprise, Buendia-Washington was in a torso-deep flood.
Flooded Street, Manila, Philippines (Photo by Romeo Ranoco-Reuters)
Buendia-Washington area was submerged under flood waters that smelled like oil…really! People made the center islands as their pathway since it’s much higher…but I thought it wouldn’t reach the soles of my feet…but no…it was ankle deep. May mga lugar nga na abot kalahati ng binti na. And everytime there is a vehicle that passes by, waves come crashing our feet…some would lost their balance and fell off to the flood waters. However, smiles and tons of smiles amidst the deluge still prevailed. It made the crossing somehow light and bearable. And for a moment, I thought the flood waters would end just at SLEX…but I was wrong.
4.45PM – Just as I thought that everything was over after 45 minutes of carefully threading the waters of Buendia-Washington towards SLEX, I thought there are no flood waters waiting…but I was wrong. I was about to face the toughest challenge yet…Crossing the waist deep flood waters of SLEX and Buendia all the way to Pasay City boundary! God in heavens name help me I said! But no matter, I said to myself, kakayanin ko poi to sir! With a grin, I started threading the deep waters of Rio Buendia. Never had I lost that sense of humor and smile upon crossing the waters. It’s almost a kilometer or two to cross all the way to Pasay! Despite the difficulty, the people surrounding me never lost hope of reaching their destinations safely…we’ve kept holding on with our dear lives and our sanity…
Just as I thought that I am confident to cross this avenue turned river, the unexpected happened. Cramps! I had cramps in the middle of the waist-deep waters! I was a bit nervous but nevertheless someone heard my prayers…a container truck is managing itself to cross the flood who is bound for Pasay. Four of us rode the backside of the truck. I was still managing my cramps when I started to talk to one of my companions at the truck. She said, “Oo nga, ganito sa Makati! Sana hindi naman ganito ang buong bayan!” I laughed at her remarks. She still managed to create a satire in the middle of the catastrophe.
West Avenue Flooded, Quezon City, Philippines (Photo by: Wally Tiu - Reuters)
We were lucky, we reached Pasay City boundary. We thanked the manong driver. Sana dumami pa ang mga tulad nila!
5.20PM – I reached Pasay Buendia area and gearing towards LRT station. Hahaha! It was also flooded…but unlike Makati, their sidewalks are very uneven and we even took precaution over opened manholes that are existent in the area. And so we moved on.
LRT Buendia Station seems very fine but it was operating. Taft Avenue is another long Venetian canal. I heard that the flood waters stretched from Baclaran all the way to Lawton! That’s the whole length of the avenue!
Anyway, LRT came in at around 5.45PM already. It was jam-packed with drenched and tired people. Upon arriving EDSA Pasay Rotunda station, it was a disaster! Pasay Rotunda, the already chaotic junction of EDSA…was in its eerie silence of vehicular traffic. No wonder, it was also waist deep down there! Good thing MMDA constructed the elevated footbridges!
Pasay Rotunda was also in a virtual standstill. Vehicles cannot push through north bound. No wonder there are no north bound vehicles down at EDSA-Ayala! And so the walk to Baclaran resumes…
6.30PM. Heritage Hotel Area (EDSA corner Roxas Blvd). Upon reaching the area, there was a bus who is bound for Cavite…I thought it would be the end of our kalbaryo! I was already tired but still managing to keep up my spirits high. I paid for my fare our bus was full. Then off we go to Coastal Road.
Along the way, I was quite shocked that Roxas Boulevard and Macapagal Boulevard were also flooded. These areas are not flood-prone areas if I’m not mistaken.
By the time we’ve reached Coastal Mall, the bus turned left towards MIA Road. Macapagal Boulevard just at Marina Village and Sentosia Apartments are also flooded. What?! Those areas are not flood-prone areas and yet binaha pa rin sila?! With that thought plus the fact that the traffic was not moving more than 30 minutes, looks like this is no ordinary flooding of Metro Manila.
7.15PM. I said to manong konduktor, bababa na lang ako. Dami atang naglalakad. And so I did. I disembarked the bus and walked…and was shocked that Coastal Road was dark and virtually a parking lot for south bound vehicles and a runway for north bound vehicles. And as PEATC closed Coastal Road to vehicular traffic, pedestrian traffic became its major concessionaire. Zapote-Talaba, the southern end of Coastal Road, was reported to have been flooded as well. The already notorious traffic of Cavite has another culprit to blame…no, not CTMO, BTMO or Buhos…but literally, buhos or outpouring of flood waters!
7.30PM to 9PM I started walking at Coastal Road from MIA Road junction towards Cavite. Mass exodus of people walking in the darkness, with only their phones lighting up the dark Coastal Road…thank goodness the rain stopped a bit. But the thought of walking all the way to Cavite was unimaginable…not until yesterday!
It’s a good thing that I have people to talk with while walking in the dark. I was not alone. I think there were thousands who were going back to Cavite from Manila. The scene was eerie. It’s as if like Manila was bombarded by an invasion…the scenes of World War 2 were reminiscent as people left by the thousands. Para syang scene sa Independence Day or War of the Worlds!
By the time we’ve reached Longos Junction, traffic was at a virtual standstill. Fast flowing floods are consuming the “Talaba Bottleneck” to its knees…and I mean knee-deep fast flowing flood coming from Zapote. So we need to hang on to vehicles or anything. I reached Talaba-Evangelista Junction (Bacoor Bayan) and the way towards poblacion Bacoor was dark and turned into rapids…Finally I reached Cavite after an hour and a half of walking 6 kilometers of silence, darkness and standstill!
Saint Dominic junction as we call it. It was already 9PM and Tropical Hut was full to the brim…I’m exhausted and hungry. Yet I was still thinking of walking all the way home to Imus…about another 5 kilometers away from here. Aguinaldo Highway was a river of strong waters. Buses and trucks cannot push through because of the deep waters in Talaba-Niog-Panapaan area. By the looks of it, I cannot push through with going through Aguinaldo Highway. I bet its flooded all the way to SM City Bacoor…but that was just an estimate…I turned myself instead towards Molino Boulevard…at least there is a way there to our place.
Ortigas Extention flooded, Pasig City, Metro Manila (Photo by Erik de Castro - Reuters)
And as I crossed the fast-moving waters at the junction, I hanged on with my dear life. Never had I seen this place having deep waters! And at last, I crossed the last “river” and homeward bound. I was desperate; I even told myself if there would be a tricycle or a motorcycle that is willing to send me home at Imus or Bahayang Pag-Asa/Molino. But thank goodness, there is a jeepney bound for Paliparan! And from that point off, it was smooth…except the fact that I was hanging at the back of the jeepney.
9.45PM – I reached Bahayang Pag-asa and called in a tricycle bound to our subdivision in Imus. I was already tired and my body is aching all over. Manong Driver told me that some flood waters reached some areas in Imus and Molino. Areas that are not flood prone.
Finally, I reached home…safely! Wet and tired…I told my mother about the experience that never would I ever forget for the whole lifetime.
If Frank had my hometown devastated, Ondoy did the same for Manila. An event that most people here thought it only happens in other Philippine cities and provinces. The only thing that surfaces is the will to survive…and not only that…but to make happiness out of misery, a strong trait that we Pinoys are made of. There was no looting, no panic, and no kaartehan! There was only the will, the smiles that shone in the darkness and the bayanihan spirit, thought long dead in Manila.
Manila shines through and still gives her friendly grin, courage and care to her people still despite the wrath. And as of my journey, it wasn’t an ordinary one…but a reflection of me and of the society in which I am living with.
