Ondoy's Wrath Tear Up a Family

This made me cry. It is so heartbreaking!

Last Family Portrait

Dad’s lament: ‘I wish I had died with them’
By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Miguel Asuela's world ended on the night of September 26 when in a matter of hours, he lost everything and everyone he held dear to tropical storm “Ondoy:” His mother, wife and their five children.
How do you measure a man’s grief? In his case, it seems impossible. “I wish I had died with them,” he said in Filipino, his eyes a study in anguish.
As Asuela stood at the El Capitan Memorial Homes in Marikina City, the 33-year-old looked like a man defeated. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes sunken and his cheeks gaunt. Silently he beheld the enormity of his loss: Six white gold-trimmed caskets lined one after another.
At the center was the casket for his wife, 29-year-old Desiree Bonifacio. Tucked into her left arm was their youngest son Lucky, who had been born only two weeks earlier.

Water-filled bungalow

Asuela’s entire family perished in floodwaters that had filled his bungalow on Patola Street in Concepcion I, Barangay Tumana. They were found in a heap inside the house, apparently trapped as strong currents prevented them from opening the door and fleeing.
Desiree was clutching Lucky to her body with one arm and one-year-old M.J. with the other. Beside them lay Asuela’s mother Ma. Flor Bonzo, 55; and Asuela’s other children Ma. Flordeliza, 11; Trixie, 9; and Miguelito, 7.
“Every night I can’t stop thinking about them. I keep thinking I should have been with them. I wish I had died too,” he said, almost in a whisper.
The Asuelas were a family of vendors selling religious items like rosaries, religious icons and sampaguita garlands and doing other odd jobs around the Immaculate Conception Parish Church.
That Saturday, Asuela had been working as a barker for jeepneys plying the Montalban and San Mateo route.
“At first, it was just a light drizzle. I didn’t really mind the rain. I never thought the water would rise so much,” he recalled.
Soon, the flood was knee-level and then waist-deep. Asuela began to worry. He rushed to the neighborhood and found that the waters down the ridge were almost up to his neck.
Senior Police Officer 3 Nonie de Belen of the Marikina Police Community Precinct 6 remembered how Asuela had tried to dive into the rampaging waters.
“I stopped him. I told him he’d drown, that he might end up dead while his family turned out to be okay,” he said. But De Belen was wrong.
Asuela said that when the floods subsided, he searched for his family in local schools that had served as impromptu evacuation centers for the flood victims.
“I didn’t go to the house. I was still hoping they were safe,” he said. When he found them nowhere, he returned to his house, accompanied by De Belen.
What Asuela found was more than he could bear.

Heartbreaking sight

He just sat in one corner and started crying, De Belen recalled. The policeman said, “I also couldn’t help but cry. The sight was heartbreaking.”
Asuela said his last moment with his family was over breakfast of hot pandesal and coffee. He said their happiest moment as a family came on July 12, 2008, when M.J. celebrated his first birthday.
“We shared a simple meal. We were all happy,” he said.
Asuela’s mother-in-law, Remedios Bonifacio, 54, said Asuela’s family was not completely gone. He actually has a remaining child, 3-year-old Leonardo, whom Asuela’s in-laws adopted after Desiree had given birth.
“He does not understand yet, Bonifacio said, referring to Leonardo. “When we ask him what happened to his siblings, he’d answer, ‘Sleeping,’” she said.

How was Typhoon Ondoy Able to Flood the Whole Luzon

It was the worst the Philippines has ever seen. For the first time in history, the whole Manila area was flooded together with other 14 or so provinces. And not just any flood, flood that will make Noah build his legendary ark. At first I thought my mom was exaggerating when she said she wouldn't be able to go home last weekend because the flood in the Cainta Junction was already 10 feet high. I have never heard such thing so I thought she just feels tired and doesn't want to go home anymore after her meeting that 1pm at Antipolo. I even told her that she has a service to bring her home so that wouldn't be a problem. When she replied in our ym chat that Edsa is also flooded, I replied with a pouty "Ok. Bahala ka." then turned on the TV and tuned in to DZMM at Channel 3. That's when I accepted the hard reality that what my mom was telling me is indeed the awful truth. For 10 hours, the news screamed of pleas of help from stranded victims in their rooftops asking to be rescued, of landslides and flash floods. No one was spared because places that were never affected by floods before were now submerged in water. Electric power was cut in the condo by 1:30PM and my mom kept texting that the water is rising and that she is running out of battery soon. Our condo is located near Ortigas Extension in the Pasig-Cainta area besides the Pasig River. The water rose so high in our unit that it covered the 1st floor destroying the units located there. My mom was also stranded for 2 days with no decent food. Other than that, she is fine.

Ondoy then proceeded to Central Luzon where in stayed in Pampanga to play for a couple of hours. When Ondoy arrived, water in our backyard (a farm) began rising as well as the water in front of our house. Thank god our house is elevated so we need not worry too much about the water in front. What worried us is the accumulating water at the back. When the water got so high years before, it needs an outlet of release thus destroying houses in the process. The first year that happened it destroyed the house extension of our neighbor bringing with it the neighbor's washing machine, car, Tv and other appliances. Two more houses were destroyed the same manner. The next year another neighbor got destroyed. The raging water brought with it parts of the house as well as the fence that seperates it from the other neighbor. Again, another two houses were destroyed the same manner. So this year, we are afraid it will happen to us. After all, weve been spared twice already. But lighting struck somewhere and the poor unfortunate house still has a waterfall in it. That won't stop until the water at the back is all drained.

So why all this destruction? Ondoy was not a super typhoon but it was able to bring Luzon down. I have a few theories:

1. Global Warming

We have been warned this would happen sooner or later and yet we sneer thinking it won't or at least it won't happen until a couple of hundred of years or so. But it is happening. Climate change is happening all over the world and it's all man's fault. The snow caps are melting thus more water to precipitate thus more water to bring down on us. It's a freaking cycle and it's just going to get worse! But man is still oblivious until a few thousands have suffered. We continue to quarry our mountains resulting in landslides like in Montalban, Tanay and Antipolo. We also continue cutting down trees that's why we don't have their roots to help support the mountain soil. I could go on and on but that would be a waste of energy. What we need to do is to remedy this. In our own way, save a tree if you can't plant one. Conserve energy and fuel. Why buy a Hummer if you know it disposes so much smoke that it can clog the air? Etc, etc. Little ways help a lot!

2. Our Garbage Disposal Sucks

When the water subsided in Metro Manila, what was left? Garbage! People throw their garbage everywhere. Garbage that clog the sewers. So when we need these sewers to suck the water, they can't. If we just help by disposing our garbage properly then the water won't get as high as it has been. Even the rivers overflowed because they are now so shallow because of garbage.

So basically what I am saying is this is all our fault. God has not forsaken us; we have forsaken the environment and now it's payback time. I hope that after this catastrophy we now think of ways to remedy the bigger problem. I don't want another Ondoy to happen.