BRACING THE STORM: MY SUPER TYPHOON ODETTE (RAI) STORY

While going through the internet, I came across this quote, “When we learn how to become resilient, we learn how to embrace the beautifully broad spectrum of the human experience.” and it struck me. Each passing day, we are at different areas of this broad spectrum. Some days we are at the ends of the spectrum, we may be filled with so much bliss and gratitude, some days we may be at the other end where in we feel hopeless, depressed, and lonely while some days, we are at the center, just living through the mundane days. No matter where we are in this broad spectrum of human experience, I learned that we must live because that's just how life is, we must survive.

_{This was the situation outside our home after the wrath of the storm. It was chaotic and traumatic.}

_{Our neighbor's home situated on the street next to ours was also not spared from the typhoon.}

Indeed, the past few weeks have been challenging, well challenging may be an understatement because there are no words to describe how difficult the past few weeks have been. I have been inactive in this platform for the past weeks because first, I had to deal with academic obligations filled with anxiety and sleepless nights and the moment I decided to be active on this platform, a super typhoon made a landfall in the Philippines.

As I was scrolling through this platform, I came across different stories of my fellow Hivers who experienced the storm as well. Some lost their homes while some had to battle through the chaos but despite it all, I am glad to know that they are all safe and are trying to rise despite the adversities. I, too, have my own story to share regarding my experience.

_{I took photos of the different streets after the storm as well.}

I could vividly remember, as what they say, the longest night of my life. On December 16, 2021, I experienced a Category 5 super typhoon. At around 7:00 PM on that night, the winds started howling as it intensified as the hours passed by. The winds maintained it strength for the next 4 hours and while the winds were gushing through all I could think of was the safety of my family. During those 4 hours, all I could do was cry and pray as my parents were busy checking if our roof was still intact and collecting rainwater dripping from our ceiling. I could not move even just one bit, but my parents bravely ensured that we are safe within our home. Living near the coastal area made me even more anxious because of the possibility of a storm surge but thankfully the sea levels were not strong enough to wreak havoc on our homes.

_{This was the situation the morning after the storm. I, together with my neighbors, had to check out the situation of the sea as well.}

_{The houses wrecked by the storm were our neighbors'. Thankfully, our home, the one painted differently, was spared and sustained only minor damages.}

The morning after the storm, I hurriedly went down to check the damages of the storm and thankfully our roof was still intact but there were damages that we needed to fix as soon as possible in case it rains in the next few days or week. Most of the trees around our subdivision were toppled down along with damaged wirings which led to loss of electricity and water supply not just in our city but across different cities in our province, Cebu. Currently, my mother pays around 2 USD per day so that we could get water from the deep well in order to take a bath. Sadly, lot of individuals lost their homes along with limited access to potable water and food not just in our province but also in neighboring provinces like in Bohol, Negros Oriental, Southern Leyte, and Surigao.

_{Here is a closer view of my neighbor's home. The roof of their house was blown away by the strong winds.}

_{Here are photos of a huge tree that was toppled down a few minutes into the strong gushing of the winds. This is an evidence of how strong the winds were.}

_{This photo was taken at night outside my uncle's office. It felt like a ghost town.}

Despite the resiliency of Filipinos, we must also demand accountability from our government officials because limited help has been provided to those affected by the storm. Thankfully, government aid has been slowly provided and there are also private sectors and ordinary citizens who initiated donation drives and the like to those severely affected by the storm. I truly hope we can all recuperate from this. For now, since my resources are also limited, I would like to be the voice that would amplify the cries of affected survivors. We are currently under a state of calamity and up to this moment some people still do not have adequate access to food, water, and other necessities especially those in areas which are hard to reach. I do hope they will be given the help that they need as soon as possible.

_{Every afternoon, my neighbor will turn on their own generator set to share some power to us so that we could charge our cellular phones, power banks, flashlights, and the like.}

_{Thankfully, my neighbors gave me a ride to the mall where there is a charging station. We were given only two hours to charge our devices hence the octopus connection.}

_{Aside from the scarcity of basic necessities, lines were also long at gasoline stations because some stations were unable to operate due to loss of electricity. Some individuals would also hoard gasoline and sell it at higher prices.}

_{This is the situation in the Southern towns of Cebu province. The damages caused by the storm were quite severe. I witnessed this en route to my grandmother's house.}

Thank you so much for reading my story. It was such a tough week that I had to travel for hours to be relocated to my grandmother's place where there is electricity, water, and WiFi connection. Resiliency alone could not help us brace the storm, through the help of others, we would surely get through the aftermath of this catastrophe.

_lifewithera is a 22-year old, college senior, an aspiring yogi, a furmom, and a wanderer, who writes stories about her personal life, mental health, fitness, travel, and just anything and everything her heart wants to speak. If you want to get to know her more, then you can connect with her through various social media platforms.

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