Recent update

Subscribe to RSS feed

FRANKIE SAID ‘I DID IT MY WAY.’

June 29th, 2008 by charlottedianco

YES, Typhoon Frank did it his way. DAMN.

I was just a kid when UNDANG hit Aklan in 1983. Like what I wrote in my other article (see UNDANG AND MILENYO), that typhoon destroyed a lot of things and left us in the dark for several weeks. I remember people talking about coffins being made-RUSH, because a lot died that time. It was terrifying but we recovered fast. I mean, yeah, there was no power- no TV, no electric fan, no ref- but it was okay. In fact, Undang was also instrumental in achieving my goals in life. Undang gave me the opportunity to dream and work hard. Whenever things aren’t what they’re supposed to be, I always look back at post-Undang days— that no matter how stormy life is- it would always get better.

When wicked Frank hit Aklan and lashed Kalibo with all his might- I just hate him instantly. I swear. Imagine how I felt when I got a message from my brother April  that our family was trapped in the second level of our ancestral house because of an 8-feet mud flood! Yeah, unimaginable. I instantly called my friends and colleagues in the media to alert them of what was going on in my hometown. But how many reporters do they have in one network? Even if they combine their forces- they’re not enough to cover all the provinces here in the Philippines. So I had no choice but call my close friends who could disseminate the information fast- because people had to know. And to be honest, I had to tend to my family first (my parents, my 89-year-old grandmother, my only sister and my four brothers).

I called up Marlou Natabio of ABS-CBN (after calling the news room of TV Patrol and DZMM) and sent a quick email to Cheryl Martinez- my best friend whom I know could ring the bells of alarm and shake people. Marlou requested for assistance from Sagip Kapamilya. Cheryl urged me to write a letter that she could distribute- but I had to beg off and let her do the writing because I had to prepare cash and boxes of supplies for my family.

In between messages to my family, I patiently tried calling everyone I know in Kalibo but to no avail. I called the radio stations but there was no line at all. Waiting was just frustrating. When my family informed me that they were already safe from the mud flood- except that we lost a lot of things during the flood- I really thank GOD for  looking after them. I’m also glad that my family has natural surviving skills– they had the presence of mind to bring water and food on the second floor. They even gathered all their mobile phones and just used one for communication to save batteries.

Now, one week after that fateful day in Kalibo– the situation is still the same. No electricity, no water supply in a lot of areas and the food supply is really low. Mom said it is now literally ’survival of the fittest.’ DAMN.

But how can people survive without food and water? How can they even walk with mud still all over the place (because there is no water to clean them!) and people are getting sick. It is frustrating and very sad because the town is slowly turning into some place that I only see in B-Movies.

Inside_the_house_1 

That’s my grandmother sitting next to the piano. The floor was a far cry from the shining-shimmering-splendid floor that I grew up with.

 

Backyard

The backyard can now be used for planting rice. Seriously!

 

Okay, so FRANK did it his way. But it’s not enough reason to be depressed (like some people I know). In fact I’m using this disaster as a challenge to myself. I have to work triple time because my family is depending on me now. I just can’t sit and wait for things to happen. Like a mantra, I keep telling myself that if I survived a lot of storms in the past, I can also survive this- my family can survive this. And if Frank did it his way, now I am also doing things MY WAY.

 

Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments

Categories

Archives

Meta