Typhoon Emong

It was devastating. The strong wind and the rain did not even last overnight but the damage it caused was overwhelming.

The day before the typhoon hit north-western Philippines, I was in Tagaytay for a LENTE training for the upcoming 2010 elections. Raring to go on vacation in Pagudpud at the end of the LENTE training, I was more than ready to drive back home despite my lack of sleep. All of a sudden, I receive a text message from my cousin (Noah) informing me of the tumultuous road conditions to Pangasinan because the typhoon surged while they were on the road. Immediately following Noah's text, I receive a text from both my mom and dad telling me that our trip to Pagudpud was postponed due to the typhoon. I was devastated.

No sooner than the sudden surge of Emong, the following day, it was bright and sunny in Manila. Prepared to sleep all day, we were awakened by a phonecall from mom telling us to pack our bags because our trip to Pagudpud had just been re-scheduled, as in right now. We did not even have time to take bath, we were immediately on the road to Pangasinan to start our long-awaited road trip to Pagudpud. I was happy.

Once in Pangasinan, we were greeted by fallen mango trees, branches and leaves all over the road, electric posts pushed down on the side of the road, and people trying to clean up after the mess that Emong caused. I even heard one relative say that after the typhoon, the places which were hit hard by the typhoon (Alaminos, Bani, Bolinao, among others) looked like a war zone. I was devastated.

Up to now there is still no electricity in our house. Although, two blocks away, some houses have electricity runing through their circuits... signs of recovery which leaves me feeling happy, but also frustrated.