Horrible Tragedy

Houses in Carmen bridge were flooded and some, washed away.

 It was 6 pm when the strong winds and rain woke me up in my room in the boarding house. It was so strong that it almost drained all the sound within the area. Earlier, there was a report that Bagyong Sendong will strike CDO. It was like the common storm that usually hits CDO...only it seems like it would never end. At 8pm, I left the boarding house to go home. I was fetched by my father. By then, all the electricity in CDO City proper had been cut off. It was dark, damp and dirty. I was drenched in rain when I arrived home.

I didn't eat supper. I was so tired and my body was sluggish from the sleepless week. I was awake for more than 24 hours, and I haven't had a proper sleep for the day.

The land became part of the river.

Suddenly at 12 midnight, the power and electricity in P.N. Roa  Subdivision were shut down. There was another power outage. There was no water. Again, I was awaken by the howling sound of the wind and the strong rain. I never slept after that. I never knew that horrifying events would follow.

The riverbank was flooded and washed away buildings.

Suddenly, I received text messages from my classmates. I was wondering what happened. The rain in the city had stopped. Their messages were full of desperation. They texted me that they needed to be rescued. I panicked. I was helpless. I don't have a truck or a boat or any transportation vehicles that could help them. Soon, these text messages flooded my inbox. All my calls can't get through.  They texted me that the flood had reached more than 2 meters and have reached the eaves of houses. I turned on the radio to keep on being updated on  what is happening downtown. There was panic. It had a series of reports of houses being washed out and people missing. It was horrifying and I feel helpless.

All networks were down. I can't call my housemates. Kuya Verge had been bedridden because of his high fever and Dhavid was dead tired from work when I left them both. I was terribly worried.

By 3 am, the Misa de Gallo was held in darkness with everyone's faces painted with horror. I was disturbed by the earlier incident and can't keep my focus on the mass. As it ended, I immediately packed my things and got some food and water for my housemates. As we went on the road, our river had sightings of dead people floating. It was a horrible. As we reached downtown, the Carmen bridge was crowded by people  and animals who were left homeless. The sight was very horrifying. The houses near the riverbed were washed out and it left no traces of human habitation. It was as if that the river swallowed everything. Many were still missing and many were dead.

I was relieved to know that the boarding house was safe. Only, water and electricity were down. All network signals had been down also. We can't contact our classmates or be able to be updated on what happened to to them, especially those who texted me for help. The day was so long. The aftermath of the storm was a dirty, humid and sordid CDO.

By 8pm, network signals had been up. I immediately contacted my classmates. I was releived to know that most of them were rescued, however I was saddened by their traumatic experiences.

They told me, after the rain and the howling wind stopped, there was complete silence. And out of the blue, the water rushed in and kept rising. In just thirty minutes and for others just a few seconds, the barangays near Cagayan river were all underwater.

Most of them were not able to save their houses, belongings and pets. They left them to the flood. My other classmates were happy to be alive, after the flash flood. They stayed on their rooftops just to be rescued without anything in their hands. They just waited  for the water to rise up so that they will float and be carried by the flood to reach their rooftops. Another classmate of mine had his house washed out along with it his family's belongings including his thesis materials. He had been crying to tell us this. Most of my schoolmates had been texting for updates on other architecture students:two  second year architecture students are missing. and an alumnus had also been missing...he was to take the board exam this January.

As morning approached, more news updates came. It was very scary to know that people I knew died in the flash flood. It was truly sad.

The city was in despair. It went through a horrible tragedy and the events seemed so untrue. However, it was no nightmare. Everything really happened. CDO just experienced the wrath of the storm and it took with it the lives of many Kagay-anons.