Remembering the Disastrous Typhoon: LOOKING BACK IN THE PAST (the typhoon reming experience)

By: Ragsky

FEAR, AGONY and SORROW- these are how to describe the feelings of the people in last year’s disaster that came to us. November 30, 2006, the date that every one remembers. It is when the super typhoon Reming brought havoc to the province of Albay. The typhoon packs a 210-230kph on wind velocity and a heavy rainfall that is 22mm per hour which cause a wide range of destruction like landslide, mudflow and floods. Now let us look back at how the typhoon Reming change the life and of the people in Albay.
As early as 7:00 am, the beautiful skies turn dark as black, the province is as silent as a dead desert, only the sound of hauling winds may be heard, which is getting stronger by minute, as if giving a warning that a strong storm is approaching. At about 9:00 am, all hell breaks lose, strong winds pummel the province, heavy rains pour that causes mudflow from the Volcano that come crushing down, destroying everything in its path. Many are left with no shelter, without food and water, hundreds died and thousands injured. Infrastructures like office buildings, malls, roads, bridges and houses were destroyed, leaving Albay helpless and paralyzed. The government was alarmed by the situation. They had difficulties settling the problems and supporting the families who were victims of the calamity. According to the government, 80% of the populations were affected. They immediately sought help from the private and non-government organizations. As a result, Relief operations and medical missions were offered.
Being a responsible person, I accepted the challenge of becoming one of the volunteers in relief operations of Redemptorist Legazpi. At first, I was shy because there were so many volunteers, but as time goes by, my shyness was gone because it’s easy for me to make friends with them. The experience was really fun and uplifting; we packed sacks of rice, dozens of dried fish, canned goods, noodles and clothing.

Furthermore, I was chosen by the organization to go to the island of Rapu-Rapu as one of the volunteers to give relief goods. When I was about to go there, I felt excited and at the same time, I was curious of the place and the people that I’m going to meet there. As I stepped on the island I was surprised by the panoramic and attractive view that will surely catch attention. I discovered later on that those are just mere illusions of the island…eight out of ten families are suffering from poverty. Lack of education and some are jobless. For them to have better life, they depend on fishing and farming as their main source of income. As I gave relief goods to the people there, I felt a sense of fulfillment in my life. Their way of saying thank you and smiling back at me makes my heart go fonder. One of the people there told me when we are about to go home that “Iho salamat sa tulong ninyo, malaking bagay na ito sa amin. Ang mga katulad ninyo ay talagang pinagpala ng diyos”, those words gave me strength, all my hardships were gone and it made me realized that helping others can make a difference in this world just like golden rule “do unto others as what others want to do unto you” . We are still lucky and we must appreciate the common things around us. Those are the things that I’ve learned from what I had experienced. I encourage the people to join activities and to volunteer in any event to help people who are in need. Those experiences will stay in my memory and it will remain until my last breath is taken…☺