Flooding in Metro Manila

It was like Ondoy was back.

On the morning of August 7th (Tuesday), Bryan and I left the office right after our shift ended. It was a rainy morning and at first everything seemed normal. But as we stood under one of the shelters in the loading zone waiting for a PVP bus, we were slowly realizing that something was wrong that day. We were wondering why Ayala Avenue wasn't crowded. It was like a Saturday morning on a weekday. Where are the people? Not many vehicles. No traffic. We waited for about half an hour... no PVP bus. So we decided not to wait any longer, just take a bus headed to Baclaran and get off on Taft Avenue where we can take another bus or jeepney that will take us to Santa Isabel College.

On the bus on our way to Taft Avenue, we were still speculating why we were only seeing a few people on a supposedly busy day in Makati. Then as our bus was traveling along Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, our speculations were confirmed. It was flooded and people were having a difficult time coming to work. We then remembered how it was raining so hard the night before until dawn. Bewildered, Bryan and I took some photos from inside the bus using my cellphone. Here are the pics: 

I had a feeling that Taft Avenue would not be different and I was right! We got there and it was barely passable. What to do? We need to get home. The rain was not stopping and there were signs that it would get heavier. We don't wanna be stranded there so we made a choice to take the LRT from there instead. So from LRT Buendia Station, we got off at Doroteo Jose Station where we took the link bridge to LRT Line-2 Recto Station. While walking the link bridge, Bryan took these photos:

From Recto Station, we got off at Pureza Station where we were caught off guard by the next scenario that greeted us: more flood and so many pedicab drivers shouting their lungs out. It was like they were having a yelling competition to get passengers and it was like people at the LRT station had a choice. Who would wanna get soaked in the deep, dirty, stinky waters? The pedicab drivers were our heroes at that moment. They charged us 100 pesos for the safe ride home... I guess they're not really heroes after all... LOL! Anyway, Bryan took this picture of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard while we were in the pedicab:

When we got home, we found out on television that those flooded areas we've seen so far are sooo nothing compared to other places like Marikina, some parts of Quezon City and other nearby provinces (such as Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Pangasinan). We also learned that aside from classes, the government suspended work too (including private sectors) that day. It was also emphasized that employees can report their employers if forced to go to work. So we just stayed home the entire day and throughout the night watching rescue operations being done in many affected areas.

The following day (August 8th), it has not stopped raining and everything was quite the same on the news. However, it was announced that work has resumed. We also got a text message from our HR/Admin Officer that our boss was expecting everybody to report to work that night. Darn! So we prepared for work early to avoid hassle going to the office. But we were skeptical so we decided to find out first if the roads/streets that we were going to take were passable. We went outside and got our answers from the pedicab drivers so we decided not to go. Leaving and traveling in the evening were just too risky. However, knowing our boss, we needed evidence so Bryan took this picture outside their house: 

Then we sent a text message to our boss and HR/Admin about our dilemma and that we won't be able to come to work. And that day marked the first ever absence of Bryan since he started working for the company more than a year ago and my first absence this year (my only other absence was last year when I had a molar extracted). Anyway, earlier this week, we filed that day as a 'leave' so we still get to be paid.

I feel bad for all the other people who have lost their homes, vehicles and loved ones (including pets). Until now, a lot of schools haven't resume classes because they were turned into evacuation centers. It's just really sad that this had to happen. How many more Ondoy-like situations do we have to endure? No more, I hope.