flash floods last night
By tigeraunt
@tigeraunt (6326)
Philippines
June 29, 2011 10:23am CST
something that i have not experienced so severe - due to continuous rain last night which started to intensify around 11pm last night and stayed on for nearly 2 hours and a half without letup, i experienced the worst calamity.. flooding.
i could no longer see the road. i live below a hilly portion and when it rains, all the water comes cascading down to the road because the drainage could not tackle all the waters. i dont usually worry because the waters just pass by and when the rain stops, the flood is no longer there, in a flash too. but last night was different. the rain stayed on for so long that i see men walking on the street with the water almost to their knees.
i am lucky that i did not have my house built near the river because everything there beside that river got flood waters 3-4 meters high. i heard about 35 people were missing and there were casualties as well.
this is not a link but i hope you read this - proof that a place very near my home (about 10 minutes walk; 3 minutes ride on the jeep going there) experienced a really big flash flood. http://ph.news.yahoo.com/14-dead-philippine-flash-flood-055532543.html
have a nice day.
ann
2 people like this
10 responses
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
3 Jul 11
That must have been horrible to see that happen so close to where you live Ann. I know what it is like kind of as we had flash floods that caused major damage and some loss of life not far from me earlier this year. I was not as close to it as you are, but they are areas that I know and it was pretty freaky to see such a wall of water rushing through them.
Creating cities in amongst natural waterways is always going to make flooding events worse than they would be in a natural area. When planning cities, they really should leave more of nature in place instead of bulldozing everything down and replacing with concrete which does not soak up or slow down any water.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
4 Jul 11
Wow! The bamboo just disappeared! That must have been a powerful flow of water. I have two or three storey bamboo clumps surrounding my house and it is hard to imagine that they could just wash away. The power of water is incredible, yet here so many people die each year from trying to cross swollen creeks in their cars!
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
1 Jul 11
It is good you are safe from the flood. I remembered a few years ago, my place ever got flood as high as nearly 1 metre due to drainage block. At that time, i and my family can't go home and had to stay put in my relatives home for a night. It is good at least no serious problem arise from that flood. It is pity to hear so many people are missing. Hope by now, the government and public are able to recover and rescue them from the flood.
1 person likes this
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
3 Jul 11
Today, my area here had rained for nearly 2 hours and it makes us feeling cool a little bit. Although you need to pay much higher fare but at least you are safely reach home. Hope your area authority will take care of the drainage, so no flood in your area in future.
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
1 Jul 11
hi myfb,
today it is raining hard again. i was in the office when it started. took again around 2 hours and a half. i commute going home but it was difficult to get a ride after a rain. all jeepneys are usually full. so i went the long way. i went over the other side of the road and there i got a ride but the transportation fare was double. i didnt mind as long as i get home. on the way home, we passed about 4 areas of the city with floods as high as two feet. so many got stranded in the jeep whose engine got wet. and the passengers could not get down or be wet.
am lucky to be home. the road in our place was passable, so i guess the intense rain only poured in the city proper.
ann
@toniganzon (72279)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
Good that you're safe. The last time i had a terrible experience with flood was two or three years ago during typhoon Frank. Our apartment was flooded and we lost almost everything. What's worse was that after the flood, everything smelled including the roads and that got my son very sick. It took us months to recover from such devastation. And the apartment was not even located near the river!
Now we have been living in this wonderful village where flood has never ever happened before.
1 person likes this
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
hi toni,
what an experience. 
but am glad you have transferred to a much better subdivision.
take care.
ann
but am glad you have transferred to a much better subdivision.
take care.
ann
@chuyins123 (2112)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
Wow. You'd better take care there ann. Which part of south are you situated my Ann? Right now, it's raining again here in Makati, I don't know if there's another storm coming or just a low pressure.
One thing that I would appreciate about rain, is that it gives me the coolness I wanted. I can sleep well at night. I didn't have a great sleep last night because it's too hot. But tonight, I guess, I'd enjoy sleeping.
I did hear about flooding in the south. Just don't know much of its details. Sorry for those who lost much on their property and most especially to those who lost their loved ones. I hope it will stop now (the flash flood).
I did hear about flooding in the south. Just don't know much of its details. Sorry for those who lost much on their property and most especially to those who lost their loved ones. I hope it will stop now (the flash flood). @tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
hi chuyins,
davao is the place where i am right now. i guess you are right. a little rain is fine. but too much - is disastrous.
it has stopped. a big body of water passed all those living near the river, around 2am probably, and swept away houses, and belongings (refrigerators and cars were seen floating in the floods) and people swept away. now the river is back to its usual size.. but the damage was done.
ann
@chuyins123 (2112)
• Philippines
1 Jul 11
I'm sorry for those who lost either properties or lives. It's really disastrous. It also happened here in Metro Manila before. I'm sure you could still remember Ondoy? It's really a total havoc. We'll pray for your rehabilitation and may the government find ways to help Davao City to get back up. God bless you Ann.
chuyins
@Kalyni2011 (3496)
• India
30 Jun 11
Dear Anny
Hubby told me last night over phone, you know he is away from home on government duty, he said he was bored alone and was doing mylot there, now i see he was the first to respond..
We are happy, you are safe..
Thanks for sharing
Happy mylotting, cheers.
Kalyani ‘Namastey’. .
1 person likes this
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
hi kal,
yes he did respond. he is a worrier, you know. always trying to know what is happening with his friends. 
all is fine here now. the floor was a mess in the morning but i had it cleaned before going to the office. good i had it tiled which is much easier to clean. 
i hope the professor is doing well away from home. but i am sure, you miss him.
take care,
ann
all is fine here now. the floor was a mess in the morning but i had it cleaned before going to the office. good i had it tiled which is much easier to clean.
i hope the professor is doing well away from home. but i am sure, you miss him.
take care,
ann
@rambansal (574)
• India
2 Jul 11
Aha, even flood got afraid of my tiger-love. Congratulations, for being safe. Still, I feel the agony of loss of life in the flood. This year, it is going to rain heavily. Please take more precautions against such rains and flood. Wish you all the safety for you for your sensitivity to pains of other people.
1 person likes this
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
2 Jul 11
hi rambansal,
just lucky the floods didnt affect me much in my home. many neighbors complained that water got into their homes because their floor was lower in elevation than the road. my floor got wet only where the door facing the road was. and i think i have taken out all my rags hence it didnt get farther than the door.
seems it has been raining everyday now, mostly at night. am just hoping that we dont get the same calamity as what happened.
you know what? i only learned this morning that the mall/superstore about 100 meters away from my home also got affected. that means the water reached them and maybe destroyed some supplies there. oh boy! what a waste!
ann
@savypat (20216)
• United States
29 Jun 11
Ann, what a scare for you, I am glad you and your family are okay. We also have floods here, and we live right by a small river, called a creek in our country. It has flooded several times in the 20 yars we have lived here but we have never had any buildings damaged. We did have about $40,000 damage and had to repair
the creek bed but the government helped us pay for that. In the center of our country we have many large rivers that have flooded and ruined whole towns and a great deal of farm land. Food costs will go up for all of us because of this. I don't think there have been any deaths due to this, everyone knew the floods were coming several days ahead. Flash floods are deadly.
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
hello pat,
i have never experienced flooding higher than my ankles so i was very calm. our place used to be rice paddies (that is what i remember when i was little.. say 3 or 4 years old). then everything became houses. and the uphill became a big subdivision. all trees were cut and what remained were paved roads and a government building. houses started getting build uphill and it became a very popular subdivision.
i was thinking, if the flash flood happened right there in my place, i wouldnt be able to save my very old computer because i am the only one staying thereat. i would not know what to pick first. made me sad.
ann
@Professor2010 (20162)
• India
29 Jun 11
Sweety
I am happy you are safe, i have read the information from the link you shared, i hope all my friends in Davao are safe. My house is near river Mahanadi, we used to face such things earlier, but after the Hirakud Dam was built, we are safe.
Take care
Thanks for sharing this in this discussion
God bless you, have a nice day ahead.
Professor ‘@Bhuwan@’. .
1 person likes this
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
hi professor,
this is due to subdivisions that were built uphill. previously, it was a vast land with coconut trees and very few houses of farmers. now the trees left are those that line up on the road. the rest are paved roads and houses.
this is man's fault. i will not blame nature.
ann
@inertia4 (27961)
• United States
30 Jun 11
Wow, I have never dealt with anything like that in my life. That sounds horrifying. Lucky when the rain stopped everything was okay. I could never live in an area that gets flooded. I freak when it rains hard here in Now York City. We get major puddles on the corners because the sewer system gets clogged. I guess I will stay here in the City.
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
hello inertia,
i have lived here almost 52 years now.
am sad of what is happening because this was a very good place before. i think it is still now, except for the flash floods.
ann
@menace730 (506)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
I'm glad all is ok with you and your family Ann...I will pray for the missing people.
1 person likes this
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
30 Jun 11
thank you dennis.
i am sure you have seen the local newspaper today. the pictures tell of the horrible details the people there experienced and the tale of how they lost their family members. it is so sad really.
ann
