#3 What Really Happened

A week before Christmas, tropical typhoon Sendong   hit the Philippines particularly in the Northern Mindanao. The flood was too strong and unexpected that it took thousands of lives in a snap of a finger in some parts of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City. Some of my relatives were directly hit by the devastation and some of my college classmates were majorly affected also. Just like Kim Ashley Escalona, one of my college classmates.  According to her, it happened around 10 o’clock in the evening. Heavy rain started to fall. She thought that it’s going to be an ordinary rainy night but it’s not. Then by around 12 midnight the electricity went out. She and her father heard a wave-like sound coming towards their house. Her father went outside to check what’s going on. She heard her father shouted to come out of the house immediately and to leave everything and just run as fast they can so they can get out of their house. When she reached their living room the water level is already high. She thought that they’re going to be trapped inside their house but luckily the back door can still be opened. They all climbed to their roof for it is the safest place for the mean time. By 2 in the morning the rain stopped and the water is already taming so her parents decided that they should take a rest for it was a very energy-consuming event. After hitting Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City, the government responded accordingly. Donations from private sectors in the society rushed in.  Neighboring countries like Taiwan and China. Government agencies like DepEd, DSWD, DOH, DILG and PNOA also helped by setting out money to help the victims. The City Public Plaza of Iligan was made as a packaging area of donation and even the Mindanao State University- Iligan Institute of Technology opened its gates to be an evacuation center.

-with Noriegin B. Daitia