Yesterday, an unexpected natural disaster hit our area. On the night of January 9, 2025, at around 8 PM, heavy rain suddenly poured down. Within just two hours, I got updates from our WhatsApp group saying the river water had risen drastically! It was so high that it overflowed into the school field. Growing up, we often experienced floods, but nothing like this—it was massive. I felt uneasy staying at home and wanted to see what was happening, so I went out around 10:30 PM to visit some places and witness the flood with my own eyes. The school field in our village’s primary school was completely submerged. The entire field disappeared under rushing water.
The suspension bridge that connects our village to the school was also swallowed by the flood. Normally, the bridge is about 14 feet above the river, but now the water had risen above it. Imagine how high the water was!
At the main road bridge, there was also severe soil erosion. Part of the tar road had collapsed at the edges, and the ground beneath it had eroded. If the flood had lasted longer or if another flood of this magnitude happens again, the road might completely collapse. I hope that doesn’t happen. There were other incidents too: a telecommunication pole broke and fell, with wires pulled down by the force of the water, causing sparks when it hit the ground. Some houses were flooded so quickly that residents couldn’t save important documents. Thankfully, the families managed to escape in time, and luckily, they weren’t asleep when the disaster struck.
By morning, the floodwaters had receded significantly. My dad went to check the village cemetery while I headed to work. What we saw was heartbreaking. Many crosses had broken, iron fences were swept away, and large logs were scattered across the graves. Some graves that weren’t fully cemented were dug out by the water, leaving pools of water inside. It was a sad and difficult day for our village.
My child’s grave was also badly affected. The cross was broken, and the nameplate had been swept away to who knows where. Other family members’ graves, including my uncle’s, grandparents’, and cousin’s, were also damaged. The roofs over the graves were gone, and everything was buried in sand or crushed by large logs. It hurt so much to see the graves of my loved ones in such a state. I’ve decided to wait until the area dries up before starting any cleanup. You never know what kind of bacteria or diseases the floodwaters might have brought.
On top of that, the village water intex system, which was newly built last year, was completely destroyed. Large rocks now cover the intex area, and as a result, the whole village has no gravity-fed water supply. Tomorrow, the young people in the village, including me, plan to head up the hill together to clear the rocks and clean the catchment area. Even though my foot hurts right now, I’ll still try to climb the hill and help out as much as I can.