Day: September 26, 2009

Metro Manila flooded

Ellen Leave a comment

Breaking news: Supreme Court has cancelled the bar exams scheduled tomorrow.

Many areas in Metro Manila are flooded.

For people who need assistance: National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Emergency Numbers: 912-5668, 911-1406, 912-2665, 911-5061. Help hotlines: 734-2118, 734-2120.42 .

If you are home safe, pray for those who are stranded.

We experienced brownout earlier this afternoon. I’m glad that electricity is back.

If you have electricity, charge your cellphones and laptops. Store water from the rain.

Parañaque Rep Rolilo Golez sent out this message at about 3 p.m:

I went all over Parañaque this morning during heavy rains, then to Red Cross Parañaque branch on Sucat for its inauguration and blessing.

But while we were having a blessing, Sucat got flooded up to waist level. My car parked on sidewalk was slowly getting flooded inside as waters entered ground floor of the building.

We are stranded here but as fate would have it, it’s agreatcoincidence that we are here for a blessing. Now stranded adn no more need to mobilize. We are using our time to good use with disaster response action.

I mobilized my brangay coordinators to give reports on flooded areas. Several barangay captains helping. Stranded volunteers here numbering 33 packing emergency food items fro distribution. We need a big truck for distribution of releif goods.

I already advised navy Chief Ferdinand Golez and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

My coordinators report more than 5,000 families affected. Areas that never expereinced flooding inthe past are now flooded.

South Luzon Expressway is closed. Reports said with all the stranded vehicles, it has become a huge parking space.

North Luzon Expressway is impassable.

Wait, there’s more!: Buy her a gift this Valentines! or send her flowers!

Storm Ondoy brings floods to Manila and the rest of Luzon

ajay Leave a comment

It has been a day of nonstop rains in Manila, and elsewhere. I’ve stayed in bed all morning, with this trusty Mac on my lap – all the while staying glued to the reports of my friends on Plurk and Twitter. Something about brownouts, cancelled flights, floods reaching houses, people moving furniture, people wading in chest-deep waters, high way billboards being stripped down, and cars almost submerged in the floods. A bad day to be out, really. It’s that bad, and somebody even had to mention taking out Noah’s Ark.

Am just glad our little bungalow has been spared from nature’s fury. This is one of those times when we’re thankful to have a garage for the old car, and a cozy roof over our heads. I dread it when the post-storm accounting comes and out comes reports of our brethren drowning or are rendered homeless because they live near dikes, riverbanks, esteros, coastal areas etc. Hope not :(

It’s the monsoon season in the Philippines, and am just thankful Ondoy chose to lash out its strength on a Saturday, and some office workers like us are spared the pain of commuting to and from work, most likely getting stranded in the process. The last worse typhoon etched in my family’s memory was Milenyo which scared us to death with the fury of its winds, and the blackouts after. We had to stay in a hotel for the next few days.

In the meantime, here’s the latest weather forecast:

“Ondoy” packed maximum winds of 85 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph, and was moving west-northwest at 19 kph.

It was expected to be 230 km west-northwest of Iba, Zambales by Sunday morning as it continues to move into the South China Sea. – via gmanews.tv

Central Luzon and the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Rizal, Quezon and Camarines Norte will experience stormy weather while the rest of Luzon will have rains and gusty winds with moderate to rough seas. Visayas will have Monsoon Rains while Mindanao will be cloudy with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the Southwest will prevail over Visayas and Mindanao and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. – PAGASA weather forecast