By now, everyone has a harrowing tale to tell about the Great Deluge which swept Luzon and parts of the Visayas and Mindanao due to typhoon Ondoy. These are tales of terrible fear and desperation, devastation and despair, and never ending hope. I too have my own collection of tales about the deluge.

Clinging to a tree

My household was frantically bailing out pailfuls of water from our sala when I received the following text: . “Pls pray/help. My mom trapped at 30 Aquamarine SSS Village Marikina. Flood, soaked, up on a tree. She is 71 and weak. I don’t know wat 2 do. Nid to get big truck to get her.”

A 71-year old up on a langka tree! She must have gone through the roof and swung Tarzan-like to the tree! How she did it was beyond my ken but I sensed the panic and despair of the daughter. I suppose extreme danger gives unusual physical strength even to the weak.

Since I did not have access to people doing rescue work in Marikina, I tried to contact people who had access to them. Thus, I asked friends to send word to Cong. Del de Guzman , MMDA Assistant General Manager Cora Cruz , and to MMDA Manager Bayani Fernando.

I texted my contacts nonstop. It was as if I was the one atop the tree--soaked to the skin, shivering and filled with terror. Supposing the woman weakened, lost her hold on the tree and fell to the rampaging waters?

In the end, the 71 year-old was finally rescued . Who was the hero? It was a complete stranger whom nobody knew. He came, climbed the langka tree , brought her down and carried her safely like a baby through the surging waters to a safe place and on to her anxious family. Then he went back to the floodwaters to rescue others.

There was no need for a rubber boat, banca, rope, fire truck, a TV camera and even a politician. Just a complete stranger.

The view from the rooftop

Of all the tales told about The Great Deluge, the most graphic and moving are stories of people trapped on the roofs of their houses.

No words are necessary to describe the plight of people on rooftops. One immediately knows that the floodwaters must be very deep and the currents powerful. The radio listener and the TV viewer knows right away that the victims’ houses must be filled with water and that their worldly goods are waterlogged. People on rooftops during a flood are not out there to enjoy the view. They are completely drenched, cold , hungry and desperate. Children and old people are among the most vulnerable of the rooftop evacuees.

As darkness started to blanket the flooded areas, the calls for help became more and more desperate. Some occupants had been trapped since early afternoon. No less than Rizal Governor Jun Jun Ynares admitted on air that the death toll in his province might rise even more if people were not rescued in time.

Shouting from the rooftops

The shouting from the rooftops came not only from the outlying areas of Metro Manila. Quezon City had its own share of rooftop victims. After all, it is crammed with squatters’ areas, as well as low-cost housing villages.

Prof. Mina Cabo, member of the faculty of the U.P. National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) lives in Palmera Homes, Quezon City. Last Saturday afternoon, surging waters engulfed their home and carried away their car. They climbed through the ceiling to the roof of their home.

Mina and her family were rescued, but not by government units. Another resident whose home was on higher ground gave them refuge.

 I had an exchange of texts with Sen. Alan Cayetano who was also busy with flood victims in Taytay. He kindly passed my texts to Sen. Villar who owns the subdivision. No news yet.

As of Sunday evening, Mina and her family were bone tired from efforts to clear their shattered home. The fence of their closest neighbor had collapsed on the wall of their house. The roof of the house had somehow moved. It is impossible to sleep there without getting wet.

There is no electricity so they can’t even cook food. Fortunately, a church member brought a caldero of cooked rice and a pot of viands. At least they had food for the day.
 I asked Mina last night what she needed. Her list was so simple I nearly wept. Coffee to keep her family warm. Biscuits to stave off hunger. An old jacket. A second hand umbrella because the roof has moved. Analgesics to keep fever away.

That’s all.