The Onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy VS The Filipino People. Filipinos, Unite!

Last Saturday, September 26, 2009, the Philippines experienced one of the worst typhoons in almost half a century. Ondoy (international code: Ketsana) poured in 455 mm in just 24 hours, worse than that of Hurricane Katrina (200 - 380mm) that hit the southern part of the United States on 2005. The catastrophe struck swiftly, giving very little time for the residents of Metro Manila and the nearby provinces to prepare for the onslaught.

Grabbed from rembcc’s Flickr

As of press time,  the death toll have reached up to 90+ already. Several hundreds are reported missing and hundreds of thousands have been displaced in the densely populated areas of the metro. Some of my family members who lives in those areas are part of those badly affected. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins have barely escaped with their lives. My dad was able to contact them earlier and we found out that they were safe but with minor injuries. Their houses were completely submerged along with the cars and all their belongings. Good thing my uncle who recently came home from Dubai was there to help manage things.

There’s a ton of things I’d like to rant write about when it comes to politicians taking advantage of the situation, the reportedly slow mobilization of the government’s rescue and relief operations among others. But that would have to wait. Right now, the primary concern of everyone should be helping out those in need. Scrap all those rivalries and whatnot. What we need to do right now is to stand united and address how we can help all those in need. We can’t just stay cooped up in our houses while watching the news on what’s happening outside. We need to take action. We need to make things happen.

Inappropriate.

Some solipsist posted a very rude statement on why she would only want to help her personal friends and NOT those she doesn’t even know. I’m sure some people share her sentiments. But really, YOU know these people. You may not know their names and what their favorite colors are or if they have a dog or a cat for a pet…but you know who these victims are. They are FILIPINOS like you.

Kapwa Pinoy. Kalahi. Kababayan. And they need your help. Do something to help out.

If you need to get the list of emergeny hotlines, you can get them here. If you want to help out and have something to donate, you can read this very helpful article by one of my friends. So far she has done a good job in disseminating information online. 

I’m gonna go out and do some offline help later. I suggest everyone to do the same. Donate, volunteer, whatever. This is a call to action. 

EDIT: The battle is not yet over. The weather map below shows that there’s still another wave of terrible weather conditions in the next 2-3 days. We must all be prepared.