‘A minute’s delay could have been tragic’

ILIGAN CITY—I wasn’t worried when an SUV went around the neighborhood frantically honking its horn, or when I saw barefoot people huddled in the corner store under pouring rain.

But a man clad only in his briefs in the downpour at around midnight on Friday prompted me to investigate.

Water was rising in the lower section of the neighborhood near the Bayug River, but I did not realize the gravity of the flooding until my brother rushed to the house, yelling, “Let’s go.” I distinctly remember hearing him sloshing through the water as he made his way to our garage.

We only had time to grab the essentials. My mother, my brother and his wife and their two kids aged 4 and 1, and the two maids only had time to jump into the car. I had to push the car so it could move forward as the water was already higher than the tail pipe.

I told them to keep moving and not to wait for me as the street was quickly turning into a river. A delay of one minute could have been tragic, but I thank the stars that they did not stop.

Unfortunately, the rampaging water caught up with me and other people fleeing on foot in the national highway.

I had to hold on to a minivan to keep me from getting tossed away.

By this time, debris were swirling in the water. A man was nearly hit by a refrigerator swept in the current. A cow and a procession of cars floated like toys in the rampaging flood. One vehicle smashed the foot of the overpass, causing people there to scream in panic.

The six-lane highway below had turned into an angry river. It felt like we were up a tree clinging on to dear life as a ferocious monster growled below.

As quickly as the flooding came, the water started to recede. By 5 a.m., people were heading back to their homes. The rising sun revealed the extent of the destruction during the night.

I marveled at the flood’s handiwork. Our house was in shambles. At nearby Orchids Subdivision close to Bayug River, rows and rows of houses were destroyed. People were laying out the dead on the pavement.

Someone told me that many of the dead took shelter in a two-story concrete house thinking they would be safe there. A 30-foot log hurtled “like a missile” and smashed the house, breaking the skulls and bones of people inside.

I hope that this doesn’t happen again. I only hope that we can be prepared better next time.