A couple of weeks ago, the metro was hit by a torrential rainfall similar to what befell us a few years ago when the typhoon Ondoy rolled into town. Memories of being stranded on the road until 9pm was renewed in my mind as the downpour reduced visibility to near zero.
The day had begun quietly enough, with a bit of scattered showers falling unpredictably here and there. The local weather forecast showed that there were storms located outside the PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility) but had the side effect of bringing in these monsoon rains. I had just gotten in the car with my Other Half when the downpour suddenly came. It was a good thing the mall was nearby, but I found myself suddenly fearing any flooding that would occur in the basement parking.
We went on the date as usual but it was ominously dark outside. I remember saying to myself that it looked like it was evening already but in reality it was just a little past noon. The rains raged on outside until we got the call from her mother to abort and come home since there was flooding already at different parts of the metro. We hurriedly left and I got her home safe before saying a little prayer and heading out. Luckily I made it home unscathed. Then there was the long wait... I spent a great deal of my time waiting for everyone else to come home. My brother arrived first after dinnertime, but my poor parents got home at 3 in the morning already due to standstill traffic caused by severe flooding.. :(
I was really thankful that they got home safe and that the water level in the immediate vicinity had not risen to alarming levels..
We saw the news the following day... The riverside communities in Marikina had to be evacuated, and the dams were forced to release water because levels had gone dangerously high.. :(
It was really fortunate that the rainfall was not as severe as what was previously experienced. The cost to human life and property is presumably much less than before. From a physician's standpoint though, we have to be an the lookout for an increased incidence of leptospirosis, as this may progress to outright renal failure and fatal pulmonary hemorrhage.
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