Exactly two Saturdays ago was definitely a time of my life -- the day that I feared that could have been the end of me being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I should have headed straight home after having a little snack at Coffeebean Tomas Morato. But I decided to drop by Viktor's and the flash flood happened.
At 9am, Flood water start seeping through the front door. It was waist level in a matter of minutes. When I looked out from the terrace, my car was already two feet submerged in water. It's useless to have some people push it to safety as I won't be able to start the car. I can't also risk exposing the open wound I got on my foot the night before in flood water. I was just praying that the rain would stop and that the flood would subside but Lo! the rain just kept on pouring and pouring and the flood water kept on rising and rising. It pains me to see my baby Maddy (my auto) drowning in flood water. Eventually, she transformed into a submarine and dove approximately 15 feet underwater.
As the water continued to rise, I helped Vik salvage some stuff from the ground floor of the residence. The main switch was turned off to avoid the risk of electrocution. Water level kept on rising and rising. When I noticed that it's only three plight away before the water levels with the second floor, I told him that we need to start packing just in case we need to evacuate. I searched for flotation devices and waterproof containers to encase the necessities. Found a floating coleman in the flood water, had it dried then stashed our cellphones, wallets and keys inside then sealed it with a small rubber ball making it buoyant and waterproof. Dried clothes were packed along with some biscuits, a bottle of water, and alcohol in a plastic container which Viktor eventually used as his flotation device.
Water level continued to rise and we had to create an evacuation plan. We can't swim from the terrace the the lamp posts are still lit up - it's either we get electrocuted by the live wires or get wounded by the barbed wire and 'bubog' on the fence. Looked around and saw a higher ground - the abandoned house at the back of his room (Later to find out that a family was murdered in that hourse). I called home and told my sister of what's happening and our contingency plans just in case we need to evacuate. tears tricked down my eyes as I'm not certain if that's gonna be the last time I'm gonna talk to my family. After deciding on our plan, We removed the window panes and started jumping into the flood water in order to get to the higher ledge. All wet and cold, we stayed there for like ten to fifteen minutes. We assessed other options just in case we need to get to another higher ground.
As the water keeps on rising, our last option was to swim towards the abandoned condominium in front of their house. It's either we stayed where we were and get electrocuted once the water touches the live wires or risk our lives by swimming to safety. It's either we get there safely, towed by the current, or drown in the attempt. We braved the almost 15 feet flood at that time and got there safely. We stayed at the 2nd flood business center changed into dry clothes, cleansed our wounds and then rested. At around 5 or 6 pm. water level still keep on rising. Another three plights of stairs then we're gonna be sealed off the rest of the building. We had to wade into the flood water again in darkness (only with a cellphone to light our path to where we should be headed). We settled at the 5th flood to rest and wait for the flood water to subside.
We were stuck with families from the squatters area who got displaced by the flood. Changed into dry clothes and then ate the food we packed up. Gad! They were too damn noisy. As much as I would to rest, I can't fall asleep after what had happened. Flood water finally subsided at around 5am. We waded into a knee-deep flood to find something to eat. We thought Mc Do would be opened but apparently, it was closed. We ended up buying drinks at 711. and from there, I called home for my dad to pick me up.
I adopted Viktor for the night as he has no place to rest given that his home was submerged in water. We cleaned ourseleves up, had breakfast and then took some rest. I drove him home at around 4pm that Sunday to get the stuff I left at his pad and at the same time, check on my car.
My car was a total disaster. there was still water inside and it's all covered in mud and oil. The problem of having it towed and fix is another story. But the hell! I survived the deluge and it built character.
Next: Reflections on this catastrophe
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