The Adventures of Filipinya

Chapter 31

Typhoon

It never takes long for news of an approaching Typhoon from the South Pacific to the Philippine Islands to spread throughout even the smallest of town and villages. Fortunately Surigao del Sur rarely takes a direct hit, but not so fortunate for the Visayas and Luzon. Both Lolo and Lola and also Tatay and Nanay Santos have seen their share of destruction from the monster storms.

Tatay and Nanay always have available a medical kit containing medicine, bandages, and other supplies. In a sealed container, Nanay also stores some canned goods, bottled water, rice and some snacks to eat which would feed her family for about three days. She also placed all the important documents and papers in a plastic envelope, along with extra batteries for the radio and flashlights.

Tatay often checked the roof to make sure it can withstand strong winds, although when Mother Nature screams, anything man made is in peril. He nailed down extra roof parts and cut tree branches too close to their home, and makes sure the electric company secures the electricity lines to be safe.

One of the neighbors walking by saw Tatay fixing something on the roof and shouted, "Hey, why do you have to do that? The news that we won't be affected by the storm."

Tatay answered, "I just wanted to ensure the safety of our home and my family. After all, we need to be prepared at all times right?" Many did not share that opinion though, and always just hoped for the best, hoped that the storm would just pass by without causing damage.

During dinner, the Santos family heard the howling winds get stronger and stronger. Nanay asked Spud to turn on the TV to catch the news on the storm. Just then, lightening lit up the sky, and a few seconds later, a loud clap of thunder shook the house.

"Seems like the typhoon might be coming closer than the news said. Maybe we should unplug our electronics now," Tatay said. In that moment, all the lights turned off. Apparently, the storm was hitting the electric grid or a local transformer. This was not the first power outage or big storm of course, and Tatay told everyone to unplug the devices anyways, just in case there was a power surge when the electricity resumed.

"Don't worry everyone, we can listen to news on the radio, just like the old days, said Lolo.

Filipinya tuned in the station, and they all heard the announcement that the typhoon suddenly changed its direction toward Surigao del Sur. Filipinya and Spud looked scared, but Nanay assured them to stay calm and pray for their area and other villages also. Nanay and Tatay were trying their best to hide their worries to make the kids feel better.

For a couple of hours, heavy rains began to pour on the village, and the streets flooded quickly. The winds were bustling through the trees and bushes, laying some of them nearly flat, and uprooting others. The kids were really scared so Nanay hugged them and Tatay joined in a group hug.

It seemed like hours, but after just 20 minutes, they looked out the cracks of the windows and door and saw some roofs detaching from different houses. Some coconut trees and smaller trees began to fall. It was so dark outside, and the rain was nearly horizontal due to the high wind blasts.

"Tatay, what shall we do? The wind is getting stronger and if the rain doesn't stop there might be floods", asked Nanay.

He used the flashlight to see that the draining system in the street was clogged by garbage and huge branches that fell from the trees. Their neighbors started to evacuate their homes and proceed to the evacuation centers. Tatay instructed his family to pack up some clothes and blankets and bring their most important belongings to the safety area. Nanay brought the first aid kid and the basket of food she had prepared.