Hi to all Hiveans! It has been far too long since my last blog and it is all thanks to Super Typhoon Odette which destroyed most of our homes and buildings last December 16, 2021. All communication and electrical lines and posts have been destroyed and thanks to that we had no mobile data so I can post this blog of mine.
December is usually the month that everyone is excited about because of Christmas Day and New Years day. It was not an exception for me also. I was excited to celebrate these two holidays because these are the times that I can share my expertise in making salads and other delicious food with my family not to mention receiving gifts from your loved ones. It's during these times that our family can gather together and spend time together since we are all busy during normal days. That is why I really didn't expect the catastrophe that will befall not only to me but to the whole Province of Cebu.
On the 16th of December I sat alone near the window. It was raining so hard that afternoon. I tried to look outside but a brisk wind hit our plants and tress. I knew that this storm is not gonna be your average storm. So I cooked food early and we ate our dinner early that day.
When the night came the wind is getting stronger. It was very dark and scary that night. The only source of light that we had are our cellphones and some flash lights. I wanted to go outside for a little bit to check my dog if he is okay but I could feel the wind pushing the door shut so I decided to just go back immediately as it was clearly not safe to go outside.
As time passed by everything was shaking like roofs, doors and windows. I could even hear the loud bang from the outside of our door as if someone is trying to get in. I could hear the sound of our roof creaking as it was about to pulled out by the strong wind. Our windows are shaking like some mad man is trying to smashed it and the water of the rain is coming in through the windows. I could hear the sound of the trees collapsing outside too. So I decided to move away from the window and move under the table. I couldn't sleep that night and was extremely scared that these is gonna be the end of our life. It was really a nightmare that I honestly don't want to experience ever again.
When I was still young there was a super typhoon that hit Cebu but it was not as strong as this one. Back then only very few houses were destroyed while most remained fully intact.
After the super typhoon has passed, me and my family went outside to see the damage and as we saw the hellish view in front of us. I just can't control my tears from flowing. I thought to myself lord why does this have to happen to us... but my brother snapped me out of it and he said that we should roam around and try to salvage every coconut fruit nearby as there were a lot of coconut trees near our house. We also searched for other fruits and vegetables that we can still salvage like bananas, eggplants, bitter gourd and beans.
I saw what happened to the towns that was destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda way back in 2013 on TV. I never would have expected to see it up close and personal. Although the damage was not as severe as Super Typhoon Yolanda but for me it looks very much the same.
After we finished gathering everything we can salvage, I tried to roam around to see the damage of the Super Typhoon to our town.
Since there was no running water we use coconut water as our main source of drinking and cooking water.
These church was built during Spanish Colonial era in the Philippines. These old churches are quite sturdy since it was made with stone blocks but the roof still got damaged and flew in the middle of the road blocking the road.
Looking at the clear blue sky it really looks like nothing happened and it's just a normal day.
But the damage is obvious. This century old Acacia tree is really impressive. Despite it being so old, meaning it has face so many typhoons in its life time, it is still standing strong. All of its leaves might have been blown away and some branching have fell and littered our Heritage Park.
It really is a blessing and amazing that these Acacia trees didn't get uprooted to the Super Typhoon.
These is what happened when the wind is too strong that our bananas and coconut laid down on the ground.
Typhoon rai odette leave footrints in my heart that even now still vivid to my mind.But then life must go on move on and look forward for the future.
As a Filipino hardships is like air to us. No matter how much pain life will give us we will still find something to lift all of the worries away.
Mother nature really is scary when she decides to bring a calamity no matter how prepared you are most of it will be meaningless. To be honest we knew it was coming since we saw it in the news and our local government have already warned us in advance. We braced ourselves but we never really expected this kind of damage.
External help is limited, as a normal citizen I can't even feel the help. The only thing we can do is self help. As they say life must go on. It is hard... really hard but there is nothing I can do about it.