The wrath of Ketsana

Typhoons and monsoon rains are a normal occurrence in the Philippines around this time of year. I'm no stranger to this. It was something we've learned to live with, seeing trees get uprooted, roof covers blown away and entire cities knee-high underwater. I remember wading through a sea of water to get to the college campus at Intramuros and only the VW Beetles float and survived those floods. But that was nothing compared to the disaster typhoon Ketsana (locally named Ondoy) caused this Saturday.

Winds up to 65 mph and heavy downpour believed to have left twice as much rainfall as fell on Louisiana during hurricane Katrina, hit the area. Ketsana drenched major parts of the metropolitan Manila and wrought havoc that so many lives were lost and homes swept away in the deluge.

Rivers swell forcing dams to release water and consequently causing flash flooding in the low lying areas. As expected, the government authorities were blamed for the delay in the rescue efforts and the lack of preparedness. Among the many people marooned by the flash floods were my family members - the daughters of my brother Rene and the entire family of my sister Clarita, both own homes in the city of Marikina which literally drowned.

As the water quickly rose to the ceiling of their houses, my nieces and my sister had to climb up to the roofs to escape drowning. And then they clustered with 20 other people at their neighbor's roof deck for over 12 hours under the rain waiting to be rescued or for the water to recede. In the early morning they were able to move to safer grounds where they sought temporary residence until they will be able to return to their respective homes. That will not be for some time since none of their belongings can be salvaged and will most likely need to rebuild their houses. We are just so grateful that they are alive but what a traumatic experience that must be.

Entire families were displaced while some did not even make it. Questions are now asked, was it an act of God or failure of mankind? Global warming, clogged drainage systems, lack of disaster planning are named as only some of the causes of the devastation.

Signs that the climate has changed drastically are felt worldwide. We have experienced the coolest summer and the warmest winter ever in the US. Drought, wildfires and natural disasters have left catastrophic effects in many parts of the world and while enough has been said and written about environmental protection, forest preservation and the likes, what are we doing about it? Isn't it about time we do our part in order to save this planet?

Let's think about this and seriously. Before it's too late.