VICTORIA, Laguna?There are no walls or ceilings and instead of a floor, rice hull covers the ground and fills the air when wind blows or someone steps on it.

This is a duck pen and home to four families who fled flooding in this town brought by Tropical Storm ?Ondoy.?

About 100 square meters, the structure that used to keep hundreds of ducks now provides shelter to the families, who could not return home because the flood hasn?t subsided weeks after Ondoy left.

During the day, the galvanized iron roof that has no ceiling beams heat directly into the structure. At night, the place turns cold.

Signs that people started taking over the pen lay on both sides of the structure. Beds, chairs, tables on one side and pots and pans on the other.

Since Ondoy struck on Sept. 26, 17 people, including three children, shared the pen with several fighting cocks, a source of income for one of the evacuees.

The families are among at least 10 who sought shelter in duck pens when Ondoy struck, according to Vinia Flores, social welfare and development officer of this town which is known for its duck and duck egg industry.

Nine of this fourth-class town?s villages were submerged when Ondoy, then Typhoon ?Santi,? struck.

Floods brought by Ondoy, worsened by the swelling of Laguna Lake, reached knee deep. When Santi came, the flooding worsened.

The Herraduras are among the 10 families who sought shelter in a duck pen.

Ludy Herradura, 44, said her family decided to move to the pen because it was near their home and out of fear their valuables would be stolen.

Ofelia Herradura, 54, said while the pen was not an ideal shelter, ?we just have to cope.?

?We really want to be able to go back to our homes soon,? she said.

The work didn?t stop for the Herraduras. Ludy?s husband, a carpenter, found work for two weeks and earned P350 per day, an amount that keeps Ludy from begging for money from her relatives.

They also collect scrap metal for a junk shop. A good haul could earn them P500 per week.

Duck pens that were spared from Ondoy?s wrath, however, did not escape Santi?s fury.

At least three duck pens across the street where the Herraduras are staying lay in ruins.

Michael Talucod, livestock inspector of the municipal agriculturist?s office, said at least 15 duck pens in the town had been destroyed.

The destruction, however, didn?t stop the town from celebrating its annual Duck Festival on Nov. 13-15.

Among those who were unable to take part in the festival were the Herraduras. They were instead cleaning their flooded homes, hoping that soon, they could return. Clarice Colting-Pulumbarit, Inquirer Southern Luzon