I seldom watch the news on TV and the only source of weather update that I have is Facebook. I was aware of the incoming typhoon (Ulysses) but did not expect it to be a super-typhoon like Rolly, after all, the Philippines is a typhoon-prone country. We just needed to prepare for the storm surge or flash floods.
The day just went normal, it was even humid. There was little trace of the incoming typhoon Ulysses except for the number of insects that went out of hiding. By 10:00 PM, it was raining in Central Luzon but not as hard as a typhoon-rain. Meanwhile, in Bicol Region, Ulysses has started to devastate the provinces who were affected by the earlier typhoons like Rolly.
By 1:00 AM, strong winds were beginning to be felt in our area so Meralco had to cut off the power supply for safety reasons. An hour later, the winds
sounded like whistling wolves. The last time I heard of these sounds was two decades ago.
Between 3:30 AM to 4:30 AM, the rain poured heavily as if an ocean of water was thrown against our house. Then the wind blew harder and created slamming sounds against our roof.
I was saving my phone battery so I turned off the data. I was unaware of what was happening outside of our subdivision and the rest of Central Luzon, as well.
It was a long agony of strong winds and heavy rains. The skies were clear by 9:26 AM the following day. I turned on my data to get some updates and to my surprise, the barangay next to us was flooded! What was even more unfortunate was the damage the typhoon has done to Cagayan Valley and NCR (Marikina and Pasig)!
Somehow, I felt guilty for the small inconveniences that I felt when there was no electricity and water supply. By the way, until now, our water supply is limited but it is nothing as compared to the pain and loss of the most affected typhoon victims.
I pray that 2021 will be a better year for all of us.
2020 hit us hard but with everyone’s love and support, we can rise again.
The World of Second Chances 