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Panay's Flashflood of the Century (6): "Remember Me Only In Happiness"
Natural Disasters in the Philippines and the Government and People's Preparedness and Response : A Case Study of Panay Island's Flashflood and the Sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars
DATELINE ILOILO: "Inday Miriam was very close to me during our college years
here in Iloilo City. We studied together at the Central Philippines University
(CPU). We belonged to the same sorority, and we were like sisters," Janette
Avila (not her real name) said.
"She was like a blood sister to me. We shared our dreams and even secrets. Now,
she is gone."
Miriam Catedrilla(not her real name) died together with other passengers when
the van they were riding in was carried away by
a strong current in one of the rivers in Iloilo City during the June 21-22,2008
flashflood.
"She and others were in a passenger van. It was in the evening of June 21,2008
when the incident happened. That was Saturday evening. They were to cross a
bridge which was already flooded. The current was strong. At first, the driver
of the van stopped the accelerator and pondered on whether to drive on or not.
The decision was his alone. It would have been alright if he
turned back and told the passengers that it would be dangerous and foolhardy to
cross the bridge because it was already flooded and the current was strong. But
he went on. Maybe, he thought that he could still cross the bridge. But in the
middle of the bridge, the engine stopped. And the van was overturned by the
current. The current swept the van and all passengers in it," Janette said.
Were there survivors?
"All died. No one survived," Janette said.
Were all accounted for?
"Some bodies were found. But Inday Miriam's body is still out there, probably in
the sea," she said.
She shook her head in silent grief.
"You know, there was one time before our graduation in CPU when we went to the
beach. Just the two of us. It was my birthday.
And she gave me a birthday card, and in it, she wrote, 'Remember me only in
happiness'. That was her message, and of course, the birthday greeting. But I
remember her message well, even after we graduated from college. I will always
remember her. It will be difficult to find another friend like her.
I'm blessed to have known her. Now, she is gone, and I'm still here," Janette
said.
+ + +
"The rain from Typhoon Frank began in Iloilo City on Friday night , June
20,2008," Bing Bing Alasa(real name), 20 years old,said. She is a student of
Western Institute of Technology in Iloilo City.
She recalled that the downpour was strong.
"The rain that Friday night was strong. It rained overnight. When I woke up the
following day, it was still raining. And the rain was still strong," she said.
Was she worried when the rain did not stop.
"I was not worried at first. There was a typhoon, so I thought the rain was just
natural. I noticed the coming of the water before 12:00 o'clock at noontime. But
still, I was not worried. There was a typhoon, so flood would come with it," she
replied.
"When did you start to worry?" this writer asked her.
"At past 3:00 PM, the water level was already high. That was the time I began to
worry. It was still raining hard, and the floodwater continued to rise. At about
5:00 PM, the water was already up to the neck level in our place. We were
alarmed in the house. We all went upstairs. The current was strong. We were like
in the sea with strong current," she said.
When I asked her if she and her family knew where the floodwater was coming
from, she told me that they didn't have any idea at all.
"We didn't know where the water was coming from. In our barangay, Barangay
Sambag in Jaro, I heard people who were shouting for help. But who could help
them in that situation? Everybody needed help. But no one could help anybody.
There was brown-out. We were all trapped in our houses. It's good that our house
has two storeys.Those who lived in bungalow-type of houses had to go up to their
roofs for safety," she said.
How were they able to do that?
"They probably removed one of the galvanized iron to create an opening to the
roof. They possibly piled up tables and chairs to reach their ceilings,"she
explained.
Bing Bing grieved over the deaths in their place.
"Many died in our place and in neighboring places. It's really a pity that
families, whole families, perished in this flood. It's the first time that this
kind of flashflood happened in Iloilo. It was not just in the city proper. Other
towns were flooded as well," she said.
When I told her that the floodwater could have come from the two dams mentioned
to me by past interviewees, she said that she also heard that news from their
neighbors.
I asked her whether there was a warning from the dam management through the
media that dam water would be released
due to the spill over of the dams.
"None at all. There was no warning. That's why we were all wondering where the
water was coming from," she answered.
+ + +
"Most of those who died in our place were trapped on the roofs of their houses,"
Bebeng Briones of Jaro, Iloilo City,said.
She is a student of the Central University of the Philippines in Jaro, Iloilo
City.
"The houses of the victims were of the bungalow-type. They did not expect this
kind of flashflood to happen, because it has never happened in the history of
Iloilo. It happened only now. The victims lived in one-storey houses near the
rivers and in the farms," she said.
Bebeng said nobody ever thought that the floodwater would rise to roof-level.
"There was no flood in the morning of Saturday, June 21. It was raining hard,
but there was no flood yet. It was in the afternoon when the flashflood came.
The water rose fast, and we were wondering where the water was coming from,"she
said.
They didn't suspect at all that the floodwater was coming from the dams. They
didn't know that dam water was being released because it was already spilling
over.
"But there was no warning at all. The dam management should
have known at which level of the dam should water be released. And they should
have notified the local media that they would release dam water. There was no
warning at all. And because of their irresponsibility, many perished in the
flashflood. The many deaths could have been avoided if the dam management really
knew what to do in emergency situations. Yes, the many deaths could have been
avoided," she said.
Irresponsibility. Neglect. Lack of training in dam management especially during
emergency situations.
Human mistake can be very costly.
In the province of Iloilo, this mistake brought the deaths of many innocent
people - men and women, adults and children.
Their lives were claimed by the raging flashflood.
Many of them perished in the night of June 21,2008, Saturday, when the
flashflood rose to the roofs of one-storey houses, claiming all members of most
families who lived near the rivers and in the farms.
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Visited Altars Media Corporation (VAMC).