Sendong 2.0

Cong Corrales

“Most floods are caused by man, not weather; deforestation, levee construction, erosion, and overgrazing all result in the loss of ecosystem services.” -Paul Hawken

IT felt weird looking at oddly familiar scenes and smelling the same odor as I was coming home to Consolacion on Saturday night.

Riding the trisikad from UCCP’s main church, I was greeted with the fetid smell of mud and debris. As we turned a corner on Burgos Street, a husband was gently stroking his spouse to comfort her. They were both squatting in the mud. The woman was crying profusely as she looked at a heap of assorted things in ankle-deep of mud — their belongings, I presumed.

Moving on to District 2 of Consolacion, people were busy shoveling mud off their houses while their children helped by falling in line with containers for water at a firetruck that parked near the chapel. The sun had come out later that day, so at 5-ish pm, I could still see all these things.

Earlier that day, we evacuated our home, “Crow’s Nest,” when the city hall’s Disaster Resiliency and Reduction Management Department hoisted the “code red alert.” It was a good 30 minutes before the barangay counterpart switched the emergency siren on which meant forced evacuation was being implemented.

We agreed that my ex-girlfriend and the kids would stay at her sister’s house uptown while I would report for work.

However, a close family friend couldn’t leave his chickens in his backyard. He lives nearer the river than us and we had expected it would be flooded as soon as Cagayan River swelled. So, it was agreed that he bring his poultry animals in our house which was on the second floor of my ex-girlfriend’s ancestral home.

So, it was a win-win agreement. Crow’s Nest would be secured from burglars while our friend and his feathery friends would be out of harm’s way.

He was alone at Crow’s Nest at the height of the flooding. He would text or call me for updates.

Before I continue, I’d like to give a shoutout of thanks to friends who sent photos and videos via the private message of how our block looked as the severe tropical storm Vinta barreled through the city.

For the first time since typhoon Sendong, I was watching our house getting flooded from the outside looking in.

The difference with Vinta, however, was that we were prepared. We prepared our minds even before Vinta made landfall. We charged all our cellphones because we knew, just like in Sendong, that power would be cut off once the flooding starts. We stored two gallons of mineral water. We packed our grab bags which contained toiletries, three-day worth of clothes, and important documents sealed in zip-lock plastic bags. We did these on Thursday night.

I guess experience is the best teacher.

City hall was well-prepared and systems were already in place. So that when the river swelled up to its critical point of nine meters, every department — from the police, fire brigade, civilian rescue teams — were already doing what they were tasked to do.

The mayor was on top of things. He wasn’t visually bossing around people, smoking cigarettes and pointing orders. He was at the command center since Thursday night monitoring Vinta via satellite feed.

The city’s information office did not elude the questions of the press and answered the questions in succinct and clear manner. They gave out critical updates on their social media platforms.

I was even surprised with my neighbors. During Sendong and typhoon Pablo before, in my opinion, they were the most bull-headed people on earth. They ignored the alerts during the Pablo onslaught. Sendong, on the other hand, had no alerts whatsoever. Well, that’s that.

One Sendong is enough for a wise guy and the city rose up to the occasion and overcame another Christmas Grinch.

The zero casualty in the city, despite the widespread flooding in the city, is a testament to how well-prepared the people of Kagay-an are.

Kudos, Kagay-an! Now, where’s that leftover ham?