TYPHOON RUBY; IT'S GOOD TO BE READY
I would like to share my experience during Typhoon Ruby Hagupit).
Here is my experience.
 |
| (Image from Google) |
Here is my experience.
13:47 PM. I was looking the sea and the view of Ormoc City. I was in the OSPA Hospital, a nice place viewing Ormoc City from the uphill. The hospital is located at the top of the hill. I felt the strong wind blowing the sea water and the branches of the trees. At the moment, there was no person staying outside the hospital. Everybody inside the hospital including the nurses, the assigned doctors and the staff were worried what will happen next. The clouds were black and the surrounding was very dark. You can sense that a catastrophe will damage the place. It was one year and almost a month ago that Typhoon Yolanda was successful in destroying the properties of the people. Many had become homeless. Many died caused by the said storm. Others died not of the angry winds and rains or storm surge but of the psychological stressed because of being hopeless after the typhoon.
Now that another one will test the life of the people again, how will they face the new challenge?
4:00PM. I received many texts messages regarding the typhoon like the exact location and the time of the expected landfall. The hospital where I stayed cut the television signal. My reliable source of information had been wrecked. As I went outside the room to buy medicine for my Tito who was admitted in the said hospital, many people were praying the Holy Rosary in the lobby. The rain sometimes stopped but the strong winds continuously hit the place.
8:00PM. I thought that this time was the expected landfall of the typhoon. But the reports that I received showed that the said typhoon was travelling slowly from the Pacific Ocean to Northern Samar. I thought that the typhoon will not affect Ormoc, Leyte, however because of the strong impact of the typhoon, the report confirmed that we can still feel the intense effect of Typhoon Ruby.
10:00PM. In the lobby, the staff of the Hospital pray the Holy Rosary again. Inside my room I prayed The Novena of Señor Sto. Niño of Cebu. In this moment , the people in the hospital surrendered everything to the Lord. No one can really help but the Savior. Faith with actions really helped us.
12:00 Midnight. The Hospital's electricity had been cut off. Thanks God because after a few minutes the Hospital restored the electricity through its generator. I contacted my family in Nadongholan, Ormoc City. I asked them about their situation. My mom stayed in our house with my brothers and cousins while my other relatives stayed in the chappel. I was worried with them because of the trauma that I experienced not with Typhoon Yolanda but with Typhoon Uring last November 6, 1991. However, they said that they were okay.
1:00 AM. I felt the intense wind. The guards of the hospital closed the main door. The maintenance staff covered the main door with plywood. The gust of the wind was really intense. As I peeped through the window, the branches of the trees were carried by wind, the rain was heavy, the whole of Ormoc was very dark. I was frightened with the situation. People in the lobby did nothing but only stared each other. The wind was really strong as it hit the wall of the building.
3:00 AM. I prayed the three o'clock prayer. The wind did not stop yet. It was still very strong. I did not sleep. I thought of my family.
4:00 AM. I heard the shout of the people outside. I wanted to see what happened but I did not see them through the window. The shout continued as the wind blew intensely. The wind sometimes blew slowly but the moment that the Typhoon released its wind, I can feel that the hospital shakes. The wind was very angry. From 1:00 AM, I couldn't figured out the damage of the Typhoon. For three hours, the wind blew the same strenght. I said, "When will be the end of this too long Typhoon?" It was the first time that I experienced this one of a kind Typhoon.
Typhoon Uring in 1991 lasted for 30 minutes. I remember that many had happened in a span of 30 minutes. Around 8,000 people died. Many houses were washed out. A lot of properties destroyed.
Typhoon Yolanda lasted for 45 minutes. Still many people died, more than 6,000 and there were a lot of properties destroyed. Unlike Typhoon Uring which damaged only the part of Ormoc City, Typhoon Yolanda damaged the whole Region VIII, Northern part of Cebu and Iloilo.
I asked, "What would be damage of this very long typhoon?" This set another world record.
5:30 AM. Although the light started to conquer darkness, yet it couldn't stop the strength of the wind.
7:00 AM. Being at the top of the hill, the wind was still very intense. The Typhoon run 160 kph and damaged a lot of properties as reported. I still heard the whistle of the very strong winds. The waves as seen from the top of the hill were still growing bigger. I hope this will not become a storm surge. I prayed that this storm will now subside. I only eat the rice that I bought last night. If this typhoon will not stop, I couldn't buy food. Thanks God! I have biscuits. Would it be biscuits for lunch?
12:00 Noon. I ate skyflakes, banana, and watermelon for lunch. While eating, I watched through the windows the leaves falling from the trees because of the strong winds.
4:16 PM. The wind never stopped whistling. Although it stopped, but unexpectedly it whistled and blew again. From the window, I watched the drizzles. Not like earlier this morning, I could clearly see the big waves ranging from 1 to two meters. The color of the sea was brown and on the deepest part of it was green. I was hoping that this wind will calm down.
December 8, 2014
5:00 AM. Thanks God, everything was very okay. Reports showed that it kills few people.
Lesson:
Some praised the job of the government however, some criticized the job as overly done. For me, it would be nice that we should always be prepared. Having less casualties is always a nice report to be heard. I commend for the job well done of the government. I hope that when a new typhoon will hit the Philippines, government should always inform the people ahead and should pressure the people that saving life is always the paramount importance.
Comments
Post a Comment