Before noon time of June 21 radio stations were already broadcasting of floods and stranded passengers in my home province Iloilo. I called up home to check how are things but my sister was already rushing things up our attic, just built a month ago. Waters started to flow inside our house and just like many years back, it takes only a few minutes and it would be knee high, waist deep and in an hour 5 feet high anywhere the house and much deeper outside of it.At 3:00pm all my sisters, mother, nephews and a few neighbors are already at our attic while most of our neighbors have evacuated already at the first gush of waters that came from Suage River just a few meters back of our house. I had our attic built this year for that purpose and it came out like Noah's Ark, standing deserted but resistant.
Meanwhile, waters continue to rise, alarming my sisters that it would swell higher than expected. The radio news of people climbing on their rooftops, trees and towers from every town of the province added to the dread. My cousins and aunts from other parts of Iloilo are also texting me, some already up at their ceiling and asking me for help, just in case. I thought of choppers, rubber boats and rafts, but even the national government from Manila has canceled deployment of rescue teams due to the treacherous weather.
Frank is signal No.3, and I could just text them to brace up for a longer battle because dams were destroyed and it would take a little longer for water to subside. I'd ask my sisters to gather water from the rain as their potable water is running out. I told them not to let go of our chickens as it can be butchered when the foods runs out, suggesting out of this world menu of salt on white meat which they never replied back, maybe thinking I was too daunted than them. I asked my other siblings from Manila not to call or text them to preserve their cellphone battery as it was total black out in the province since early morning, but they must update me every 30 minutes if the water continues to rise, if the rain continues to pour and if their foods are still enough. Their second phone must be turned off, to be opened only when the worst call becomes necessary.Every 30 minutes the text messages came, water going half inch lower, two inch lower, then some staircase steps appearing, forwarding same messages to all my siblings, including one who is in the U.S. so she doesn't worry anymore when news breaks out the next day. The last message says all kids are asleep with their lola. I thought my family's safe now, up at the attic I rushed to build to keep them safe from recurring natural calamities such as Frank.
