When Yolanda/Haiyan Hit The Philippines
I was at V&G Consolacion, Cebu.
But 'Lacion wasn't even near the eye of the storm. Nearest (to me) was when it made landfall at Daanbantayan (northern Cebu), about one hundred or so kilometers away.
Yet I felt its fury. I thought the roof was going to fly off, because the ceiling was like already "undulating", and things were flying here and there (my room is at roof deck).
Oh, as I always say... let's start from the very beginning...
That was about 5AM. And towards six-thirtyish, I detoured into Jollibee - alams na!
FYI lang, that is always how a Jollibee Corned Beef Meal ends with me. Normal yan!
For those who are very observant, yes I was alone. That other meal was mine too!
Normal "na rin" yan - or 'getting to be normal na yata' when I go on my morning walks!
Oh, here it is, sausage meal. At least pancakes ang pair, hindi na fried rice.
As if it matters 'no?! Parehas din yan - mapa-cholesterol, carbs, fats, sugars - sagad!
Anyway, what I'm actually trying to show is: this was the beginning of a normal Friday morning, where everyone (at least in Consolacion), was starting to be out and about.
Look at the pictures above again. You can see the outside. It was just a little wet, as there was intermittent light rain, you won't even bother using an umbrella for a walk.
Aw look, I actually took a photo of my receipts - meaning I, take this as still unusual.
Yep, 2 meals in one sitting is still an unusual event for me, who isn't yet even a fan of breakfasts! I do suspect that very soon, this could (will) become a standard hahaha!
Anyway, for my story today, time-stamps on those 2 receipts say, this Super Typhoon Day started out quite normal - at least for me, in Consolacion Cebu. A good morning!
I wouldn't have gone out just for breakfast if it was already stormy, correct?
The receipt at left says 6:52AM. So, it probably arrived at my table by 7AM? Ow yes, Jollibee morning crews move fast and efficient, aside from halatang mga bagong ligo!
I even still read crisp copies of Sunstar and The Freeman - provided by the store for in-store free reading (hindi ini-uuwi yan ha?). So, I must've been there til around 9AM.
Eh nagbasa pa eh. With Coke syempre!
When I walked home (yes wala nay taliksik), it felt kinda windier, though not alarming, according to my own personal standards. Baka kasi ang iba panic time na - ratol ba!
I did notice that on TV, all stations switched from their regular programming to more on public service talk w/ constant news updates about the storm - specifically Leyte.
Natawa pa ako ng konti since all of them were merely saying "all of Region 8 was not accessible via any form of communication". That, repeatedly, was news, plus weather!
There was really none (yet), as to what has happened (or happening) to Leyte, Samar or Biliran because of the storm. They couldn't tell, for how could they, no contact eh.
I did remember, before I went out for that morning walk, I still saw Atom Araullo live in Tacloban, and Love Añover live in Palo, reporting on each of their morning shows.
About 10AM or therearounds, CNN was saying Yolanda/Haiyan should be doing yet another landfall at Cebu's northern tip. Ah, wind was also getting stronger in Lacion!
And poffft! Blackout! That's when I said "OMG, kulba"!
That sudden. Without even much rain. This time it was not just strong winds. It was that whistling, howling kind of wind, creating frightening sounds. Parang lumilindol.
Then that heavy rain came, being blown to almost horizontally. I could see from my window that heavy wooden door panels were tumbling, as GI sheets flew like paper.
My room in Lacion is the only protruding structure at a roof-deck on the 3rd level of a building. Up here, from time to time, wind swirled, knocking down or lifting things!
The 15kg twin-tub washing machine of Mana Zoila tumbled and swirled in this roof-deck, as if an ice-skater making that furious dizzying finale spin. Ang bigat nyan ah!
That 15kg is its washing capacity, so it is surely heavier than 15kg. Nituyok sya!
I could only watch from inside my windows, since "there were countless things flying" mostly GI sheets from neighbors roofs' or other structures. To step out was Danger!
But I was primed to run out and down from my high altitude nest, in case something I strongly suspected actually happened. That was IF my roof went gone with the wind!
Ang sama ko ba mag-isip? Ah, I think it's better to expect the worst and prepare for it, kesa mabigla ka na lang that something untoward happens, catching you off-guard.
I saw my ceiling (therefore also the roof) was already like breathing! Yes, tumataas-baba sya na parang tiyan mo pag nakahiga, each time the strong gusts would blow outside. Eh, this was my first time seeing that. Eh malay ko ba how to interpret that.
So, put one-plus-one-equals-two, I thought my roof was about to fly off any moment! That only meant my things will be sucked out and away by Yolanda/Haiyan's winds.
That masamang-isip "imgined scenario", actually became a basis, so that I prepared albeit quickly and haphazardly to mitigate any material losses. Ayan naglabasan na ang mga English ko sa baul hahah! Nanawagan na rin ako sa langit while preparing!
The laptop and phone were always within reach. I stuffed more (and heaviest) things unto the aparador over my clothes that were covered or wrapped with plastic sheets.
Rationale: in case the roof and ceiling was ripped by Yolanda, Mana Zoila's aparador would hopefully remain, because my clothes and other things were in stashed there.
Hey, for whatever reason or logic that came to mind, I opened a window each at both ends of my flat, plus that tiny window in the bathroom. Huwag lang lumipad ang roof!
Ratol na ra ba! Things like these kasi are never taught to us Pinoys in whatever kind of school from Kindergarten up to Graduate School, di ba? Bagkus, puro dasal lang!
Eh di ba yun mga "duck duck hold" na iyan inig linog, lately lang ang mga drill drill na yan, di ba? At wala talaga pang-bagyo na lessons until now. Pang-baha lang meron!
Puro lang: "lumikas na kayo"! How about: at what kph winds will a washing machine fly with the wind; how does air pressure in a closed house behave with storm wind?
Di ba? Kulang ang puro dasal lang. Lihok-lihok sad ta pag may time oi! That is, kung alam mo ang lilihokin hahaha! Sabi nga sa Scouting: Laging Handa. Fine, kung alam mo ano'ng paghahandaan, ano'ng ihahanda at paano maghanda. Not just Handa Awit!
Example: at what storm signal do we board up our homes? Isn't there a science to it?
And things like those.
One more thing I need to tell you: come to think of it, the rush if haphazard securing of my things to not fly with the wind (in case the roof flew away) kept the brain busy.
Otherwise, I could've just been entertaining alarm and fright, with nothing but "Lord, tama na please" hanggang tumila ang hangin o atakehin ako, whichever came first!
Di ba?
That was agony enough. To maintain sanity! To ensure mental health and physical safety amid a dangerous situation. Alone. And it lasted until about after 12 or 1PM?
So, mga 3 hours din.
Now, while nanghipos, while cleaning up, something unimagineable came to mind...
If at about 100 kilometers from the eye of the storm, it felt like I was at the gates of hell, how about those people and/or villages who were directly on the storm's path?
I do not anymore want to imagine that, kaya unimaginable!
Curious, I went there about 7PM. Closed, but not so much damage (my guess).
Their supermarket is to the right (not seen in photo) and I could see some folks busy inside. So, I further guessed, they must be preparing to have it opened by tomorrow.
The McDo branch across SM Consolacion was also open sanz the air-conditioning.
Pila - as in! I wasn't hungry, but it was dinnertime. I went there to grab some anyway!
Not hungry daw, pero eto ang ebidensya, meron pang kaakibat na take-out!
I wasn't really that hungry. But I also remembered I didn't have lunch (how could I) as about that time, busy pa si 'Aleng Yolanda' ibalibag at iwasiswas ang kapaligiran ko!
Noted that. When my brain is busy on something overwhelming, hunger is not felt.
Noted too that: when I smelled food, I realized gutom na pala ako!
Oh well. The strongest typhoon (or storm, whatever it's called now) that I experienced in my adult life. And the most precarious weather situation I got myself into, I guess.
News is not at all looking good.
Let's see how/if this will affect my travels, and yours!
But 'Lacion wasn't even near the eye of the storm. Nearest (to me) was when it made landfall at Daanbantayan (northern Cebu), about one hundred or so kilometers away.
Yet I felt its fury. I thought the roof was going to fly off, because the ceiling was like already "undulating", and things were flying here and there (my room is at roof deck).
Oh, as I always say... let's start from the very beginning...
It started as a good morning
Cloudy, gloomy, cool, drizzly.., just one of those days. The soft breeze even felt nice on my skin. The taliksik stopped, so I went for a walk. Forgot this was a typhoon day.That was about 5AM. And towards six-thirtyish, I detoured into Jollibee - alams na!
For those who are very observant, yes I was alone. That other meal was mine too!
Oh, here it is, sausage meal. At least pancakes ang pair, hindi na fried rice.
Anyway, what I'm actually trying to show is: this was the beginning of a normal Friday morning, where everyone (at least in Consolacion), was starting to be out and about.
Look at the pictures above again. You can see the outside. It was just a little wet, as there was intermittent light rain, you won't even bother using an umbrella for a walk.
Aw look, I actually took a photo of my receipts - meaning I, take this as still unusual.
Anyway, for my story today, time-stamps on those 2 receipts say, this Super Typhoon Day started out quite normal - at least for me, in Consolacion Cebu. A good morning!
I wouldn't have gone out just for breakfast if it was already stormy, correct?
Then it wreaked havoc
Not really right there as I enjoyed my Jollibee breakfast. I still leisurely walked home.The receipt at left says 6:52AM. So, it probably arrived at my table by 7AM? Ow yes, Jollibee morning crews move fast and efficient, aside from halatang mga bagong ligo!
I even still read crisp copies of Sunstar and The Freeman - provided by the store for in-store free reading (hindi ini-uuwi yan ha?). So, I must've been there til around 9AM.
Eh nagbasa pa eh. With Coke syempre!
When I walked home (yes wala nay taliksik), it felt kinda windier, though not alarming, according to my own personal standards. Baka kasi ang iba panic time na - ratol ba!
I did notice that on TV, all stations switched from their regular programming to more on public service talk w/ constant news updates about the storm - specifically Leyte.
Natawa pa ako ng konti since all of them were merely saying "all of Region 8 was not accessible via any form of communication". That, repeatedly, was news, plus weather!
There was really none (yet), as to what has happened (or happening) to Leyte, Samar or Biliran because of the storm. They couldn't tell, for how could they, no contact eh.
I did remember, before I went out for that morning walk, I still saw Atom Araullo live in Tacloban, and Love Añover live in Palo, reporting on each of their morning shows.
About 10AM or therearounds, CNN was saying Yolanda/Haiyan should be doing yet another landfall at Cebu's northern tip. Ah, wind was also getting stronger in Lacion!
And poffft! Blackout! That's when I said "OMG, kulba"!
That sudden. Without even much rain. This time it was not just strong winds. It was that whistling, howling kind of wind, creating frightening sounds. Parang lumilindol.
Then that heavy rain came, being blown to almost horizontally. I could see from my window that heavy wooden door panels were tumbling, as GI sheets flew like paper.
My room in Lacion is the only protruding structure at a roof-deck on the 3rd level of a building. Up here, from time to time, wind swirled, knocking down or lifting things!
The 15kg twin-tub washing machine of Mana Zoila tumbled and swirled in this roof-deck, as if an ice-skater making that furious dizzying finale spin. Ang bigat nyan ah!
That 15kg is its washing capacity, so it is surely heavier than 15kg. Nituyok sya!
I could only watch from inside my windows, since "there were countless things flying" mostly GI sheets from neighbors roofs' or other structures. To step out was Danger!
But I was primed to run out and down from my high altitude nest, in case something I strongly suspected actually happened. That was IF my roof went gone with the wind!
Ang sama ko ba mag-isip? Ah, I think it's better to expect the worst and prepare for it, kesa mabigla ka na lang that something untoward happens, catching you off-guard.
I saw my ceiling (therefore also the roof) was already like breathing! Yes, tumataas-baba sya na parang tiyan mo pag nakahiga, each time the strong gusts would blow outside. Eh, this was my first time seeing that. Eh malay ko ba how to interpret that.
So, put one-plus-one-equals-two, I thought my roof was about to fly off any moment! That only meant my things will be sucked out and away by Yolanda/Haiyan's winds.
That masamang-isip "imgined scenario", actually became a basis, so that I prepared albeit quickly and haphazardly to mitigate any material losses. Ayan naglabasan na ang mga English ko sa baul hahah! Nanawagan na rin ako sa langit while preparing!
The laptop and phone were always within reach. I stuffed more (and heaviest) things unto the aparador over my clothes that were covered or wrapped with plastic sheets.
Rationale: in case the roof and ceiling was ripped by Yolanda, Mana Zoila's aparador would hopefully remain, because my clothes and other things were in stashed there.
Hey, for whatever reason or logic that came to mind, I opened a window each at both ends of my flat, plus that tiny window in the bathroom. Huwag lang lumipad ang roof!
Ratol na ra ba! Things like these kasi are never taught to us Pinoys in whatever kind of school from Kindergarten up to Graduate School, di ba? Bagkus, puro dasal lang!
Eh di ba yun mga "duck duck hold" na iyan inig linog, lately lang ang mga drill drill na yan, di ba? At wala talaga pang-bagyo na lessons until now. Pang-baha lang meron!
Puro lang: "lumikas na kayo"! How about: at what kph winds will a washing machine fly with the wind; how does air pressure in a closed house behave with storm wind?
Di ba? Kulang ang puro dasal lang. Lihok-lihok sad ta pag may time oi! That is, kung alam mo ang lilihokin hahaha! Sabi nga sa Scouting: Laging Handa. Fine, kung alam mo ano'ng paghahandaan, ano'ng ihahanda at paano maghanda. Not just Handa Awit!
Example: at what storm signal do we board up our homes? Isn't there a science to it?
And things like those.
One more thing I need to tell you: come to think of it, the rush if haphazard securing of my things to not fly with the wind (in case the roof flew away) kept the brain busy.
Otherwise, I could've just been entertaining alarm and fright, with nothing but "Lord, tama na please" hanggang tumila ang hangin o atakehin ako, whichever came first!
Di ba?
That was agony enough. To maintain sanity! To ensure mental health and physical safety amid a dangerous situation. Alone. And it lasted until about after 12 or 1PM?
So, mga 3 hours din.
It subsided past noon
Because by about 2PM, ulan-ulan, ambon-ambon na lang. No more battering winds.Now, while nanghipos, while cleaning up, something unimagineable came to mind...
If at about 100 kilometers from the eye of the storm, it felt like I was at the gates of hell, how about those people and/or villages who were directly on the storm's path?
I do not anymore want to imagine that, kaya unimaginable!
And 'the aftermath' begins...
I overheard people down on the road saying that SM Lacion was damaged on some portions, but their supermarket section will be opened, to cater to everyone's needs.Curious, I went there about 7PM. Closed, but not so much damage (my guess).
The McDo branch across SM Consolacion was also open sanz the air-conditioning.
Not hungry daw, pero eto ang ebidensya, meron pang kaakibat na take-out!
Noted that. When my brain is busy on something overwhelming, hunger is not felt.
Noted too that: when I smelled food, I realized gutom na pala ako!
Oh well. The strongest typhoon (or storm, whatever it's called now) that I experienced in my adult life. And the most precarious weather situation I got myself into, I guess.
News is not at all looking good.
Let's see how/if this will affect my travels, and yours!
#EasternVisayas #TravelPhilippines #supertyphoon
Comments
Post a Comment