I happened to look out the window and for the first time in 4 days, I can finally see a faint ray of sunlight. It finally broke through the thick gray clouds! It's still very cloudy indicating more rains but at least it's not a continuous downpour as in the past 3 days. The rain would still come in spurts so an umbrella or coat should never be out of reach when going outdoors. You never really know when it's going to suddenly pour out from the sky...no warning drizzles.
We didn't get flooded in our area, considering we're surrounded by a river. Other surrounding areas, however were not spared from the flood. Kudos to our barangay chairwoman who has done a remarkable job a couple of months prior to the rainy season. She had spearheaded the de-clogging of the drainage system and made sure river water won't seep into the streets, unless of course the river overflows. Ever since Ondoy hit 4 years ago, I am always anxious when heavy rains fall. And I was expecting flood since Sunday evening, but I am glad my expectations were not realized this time. Still, I came to the office prepared. I have brought change clothes and towel, just in case I can't go home.
Right now, the weather seems to be friendlier. Maybe by tomorrow, the sun would be shining bright already. I just hope and pray that would also be the case with those whose areas have been severely flooded, that despite the property damage, they would feel a certain calm and relief that the storm is over and that they have survived it. There were a few who were not so fortunate and who have lost their lives.
A lot could be learned from the storms. I just hope that we all would learn from past mistakes and be better prepared, because like it or not, nature will always unleash her fury, as it has done ever since. We need to pray, but we should also be able to see that some things, like floods are actually preventable, and can be minimized at the most. There is a need to address the problems that contribute to severe flooding. And I hope those who are in the higher positions would take cue from our chairwoman. Sometimes, they do need to get out from behind their comfy office desks and take a look around.
So now, in the aftermath of the storm and monsoon, it's time to rebuild once more.
