Had a terrible time this morning. At 3 am, I woke up to the sound of heavy, nonstop rains and even heavier thunder. I got up and peered through the kitchen window where I could see that the water level at our gate was non-threatening and went back to sleep. But in 30 minutes, a neighbor’s ringing of our doorbell woke me up again. I checked the situation outside the house and panicked that some flood water already entered our garage! This didn’t happen even during the worst of Ondoy or even Habagat. What’s worse, we live in a bungalow so no way to escape up. My toddler had to be carried to safety to the neighbor’s two-story townhouse and my car (a sedan) had to be pushed to higher ground too…again, by kind-hearted neighbors. Bless their soul!
In situations like this, the community spirit of Filipinos shines bright like a diamond. I am sure there are a lot of unsung heroes coming out of this calamity that will remain like that…unsung. However, am not talking about PAGASA, the government weather agency, which didn’t give citizens the appropriate warning, as usual. It was mainly a guessing game for most people as mega heavy rains pelted the streets yesterday.You went out of the house at your own risk. It was only later in the night that peeps realized the danger of the situation when the weather bureau declared that rainfall warning had been upgraded to RED.
So here are photos to give our readers from afar an idea of the situation, as monitored in the social networks:
At the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX) with cars submerged in the floods (pic via Twitter) -
A flood-prone area going to Intramuros, with the Manila City Hall’s giant tower clock standing guard -
A street in our city of Paranaque. Note the submerged vehicles. So yeah, it makes to invest in an SUV, pick up truck or Hummer in this kind of weather 
A common sight: parents/older folks carrying kids to safety in neck-deep, chest-deep waters (lucky if it’s only knee-deep) – image via @momblogger’s Storify
Even quiet, sheltered, secluded subdivisions were not spared. Here’s a photo posted by a friend in Facebook of their situation in Bricktown Subdivision, Paranaque -
As of press time, a state of calamity has been declared in the entire Laguna and Cavite provinces. We hope that those needing rescue have already been moved to higher ground. Those in the evacuation centers need our help as well. Stay safe and God bless the Philippines!