Hi friends- I didn’t realize the extent of the situation when I posted last night. I’ve been talking with expat friends and surveying the local news and things are quite bad. I’ll start by saying that we are just find and that traffic is flowing outside our place and there is no immediate flooding within a close radius. That being said, here’s what was just posted on one of the update sites:
The news is grim. People on their roofs, people losing their homes, loved ones separated, refugees everywhere, the most recent report is 5,000 people stuck in the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City. I have yet to confirm this but have heard this is the worst deluge since 1967; PAGASA reported that in three hours, as much rain as normally falls in two weeks soaked the Metropolis. Reports from the rest of Luzon -with most of Luzon’s provinces, including the National Capital Region placed under a State of Calamity by the President- are only now trickling in. Rescue and relief efforts over the years have gotten increasingly efficient, but this is one of those events that happen so suddenly, no one can possibly prepare for it.
I found these pictures online. This picture shows the underground passthrough that I walk in every morning when I go to the gym – just a few blocks from us. Just to give you an idea, that space is probably 30-40 feet below street level.
This dramatic picture captures the height of devastation that the water caused in some places.
This next picture is from Fort Bonafacio, a place where many of our friends live. This is a VERY high-end area, showing that the devastation is widespread. The ground floor is full of shops and restaurants (one of which I ate at less than a month ago), all of which are now under water.
We still haven’t heard from our helper Norma, who insisted on going home last night. She isn’t returning our texts. Please say prayers. Many expats that have been in touch with there help are reporting that the employee and their families were displaced from their home. Please offer up a prayer for all the people that have been impacted by the typhoon. There will be a lot of clean-up in the coming weeks…
Just checking to see if you’ve heard from Norma. Hope all is well.
Yes, unbeknownst to us, she walked 7 hours to get to her home in South Manila because no buses were running. She is okay and we are grateful for that! No damage to her home or our driver’s… a much better situation than most people have. Thanks for checking in…
I’m glad that I read the comments this morning.I had been wondering how Norma had fared getting home.
Thanks for the update.