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Article

Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) and Floods Hit the Philippines

We Have Many Typhoons, But This One is a Calamity
By Inday Vinas
Article Rating:
September 30, 2009 08:30 AM EDT
Reads:
 6,442

I was lucky that Typhoon Ondoy did not affect my apartment. We are out in Pampanga two hours from Manila but we did not have a flood in my little neighborhood.

But so many people died in this typhoon, and now the world knows what can happen in the Philippines. We get more than 20 typhoons each year and they cause many problems.

Typhoon Feria back there in June damaged many houses in Samar Province where I am from. I was visiting then and it was very scary. You know we don't have a radio there or any way to know when a typhoon is coming. We just hope for the best and we know that no one will help us.

Two other typhoons in August and September gave us rain for more than one week. A lot of floods and some people died then, too.

phils trip september 169

But I think that nobody outside of the Philippines knows about these things unless they are very, very bad.

As I said, my family and friends and I are OK. We have work and a place to live. I took the pic here of my street. This was Typhoon Morakot three weeks ago. It rained for one week, no break. The jeep is not mine hehe, it is somebody else in the neighborhood. But there is trouble with the engine, it does not run. It just sits there!

Ok, I will be serious now. On TV we are seeing that many people died in Ondoy and many thousands of people lost their homes. So many people are very poor and live near the rivers. But what can they do? That is their life.

I know there are many kind Kano people in the world--US, Canada, England, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, like that. And many pinoy live in those countries and other countries too. So I know many people will try to send money and clothes and try to help the Philippines.

I found a website that is good: www.philippineaid.org. You can also send email to me at oldfield73@yahoo.com if you want more information on how to help.

All of us thank-you for that. Sometimes you see that people are really good only when things are really bad. But also remember that we Filipinos are very strong people. We know about tragedy and "calamity" events. We help each other, and we will survive always. Bahala na.

Published September 30, 2009 – Reads 6,442
Copyright © 2009 Ulitzer, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
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More Stories By Inday Vinas

Inday Vinas grew up in Samar Province, Philippines. She left high school after three years to work and help her family, including seven brothers and sisters. She now lives in the greater Manila area and is co-founder of the data and web services company Samar Pacific.

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