Typhoon Ondoy

One of the significant events that happened in the past 10 years was the devastation caused by Typhoon Ondoy last September 26, 2009. Ondoy is natural disaster that brought much damage in people's life and property especially Central Luzon and Manila. This brought the whole Philippines under state of calamity. Ondoy exposed how our system has been deprived by techniques and tools to mitigate the effect of such disasters. Below is an article about the typhoon.

The Wrath of Typhoon Ondoy

Tropical typhoon Ondoy wreaked havoc in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces last September 26, 2009, Saturday. In its tail end, Ondoy left most of Metropolitan Manila submerged in deep floods, hundreds of dead and missing and thousands homeless. No other Philippine typhoon in recent history has caused more harm than typhoon Ondoy. It was almost like a deluge has fallen in the Philippines. Ondoy broke the record as the typhoon that made the worst flood in Philippine history. It all started on a bleak Saturday morning with heavy rainfall that seemed there was no end to it. The Pag-asa reported that a total amount of 341 mm of rain had been poured in a period of six hours from 8 in the morning up to 2 in the afternoon. The unexpected amount of rainfall had caused massive flash flooding in Marikina, Quezon City, Manila, Pasig, Rizal province, Malabon, Navotas, and many other parts of the metro and the nearby provinces.

At present the human death toll is 246 and counting, hundreds missing, and thousands homeless, such as never before had been seen. In the wake of this terrible disaster, people sought refuge in barangay halls, covered basketball courts, and empty parking areas. Typhoon Ondoy is a disaster that exposed many hidden weaknesses in the government's preparedness for a calamity of this magnitude. Hundreds of people were trapped on the roofs of their homes as the flood heightened to drown them. They hoped in their heart of hearts that a rescue team will somehow emerge...