Typhoon Odette in San Vicente, Palawan (Ang Hagupit ni Odette)

This content is pretty emotionally disturbing. [sigh] 

It's been a week now (as of this writing) since super typhoon Odette had a last full show in Palawan, particularly in the municipalities of San Vicente, Roxas, Aracelli, Dumaran, Cuyo, and Cagayancillo and Puerto Princesa City, before going to the West Philippine  Sea, but the horror and havoc it brought to many people including me have left us anxious and sad. And that nightmare will be remembered forever. 

I wasn't able to sleep on the 16th of December when typhoon Odette hit Cebu; one of my brothers who still worked that day got stranded in Naga City (last thing I knew, the building where he and other people hid from the flying debris was also slowly wrecked as we talked over the phone) and no updates from my parents that whole day. Then, Odette finally arrived in the mainland of Palawan the next day (December 17, 2021). Morning palang gani, it was already slowly destroying the covered court of Bgy. New Agutaya, SVP. 

In my exact location, it became stronger at 2pm-5pm. Then, it stopped. Yeeeyyy! Kato lang. Humana..Two big mango trees, some other trees around and bakod lang ang nasira namo. 

Ohhh myyy... It was a prank.😬 After 30min of calmness, there, the strongest wind I've ever observed and experienced in my whole life was starting to wreck the whole roof of one of our neighbors (a nice house), and when I looked again outside after few minutes i started to feel like it was the end of the world.  😥 The wind was too strong. 😭 It sounded like numbers of dumptrucks were coming and ready to hit the area. 

We were trying to move to a safer place (as to what we thought), a very small store, ignoring the lightnings and the strong wind. (P.S. Hadlukanon jud kaayo ko ug kilat.😩) However, just after few minutes of hiding in that store, its roof started to shake... a lot. So, we decided to go back home after eating a bit since it was already 7:00 o'clock in the evening and I was starting to get tired. Although we didn't have the appetite, I insisted ng mga ilang subo para hindi mapasma at maka charge man lang ng energy kahit papano. Nagkuha kami ng isang sardinas sa tindahan, but we paid for it the next day. 

<Note: A plastic box with rice (cooked), noodles (no canned goods, ang bigat kasi), scissors, matches (aww... matchboxes to be exact), spoons and forks and a water resistant bag with important things were with me the whole time during the typhoon.>

I felt safer at home, but then I was worried that the three coconut trees that were so close to the house especially the tallest one would give up and would cause a lot of struggles and damages. So, we were staying behind a  concrete wall and stayed alert. 

This photo was taken when it calmed down. It's not a lake, it's a ricefield. 

I kept on checking the time and observing the surroundings. It was the longest night of my life, indeed. I lost count how many times I prayed the Rosary. 

Finally, at about 9 o'clock in the evening, the wind started to calm down. What a huge relief!!! But I still couldn't sleep coz' Odette wasn't totally gone yet. Everyone was asleep, but I wanted to be awake when something came up. I dosed off at about 3AM already.

These photos were taken when I already had the time to look around a bit. 

Praise God!🙏 We are all safe, though the mess outside was indescribable (not yet completely cleaned this time), the house is still "intact" 😊, and the three coconut trees I've already mentioned are still miraculously standing strong. Ipaputol na unya namo basta may fuel na na available.

Thanks to the many trees around the area that helped save us and the house; 99.9% of them are super dead. 😢💔😢 

As for my family in Cebu, they are all safe, too. Thanks God!🙏  Finally, I received an update from them 5 days after it hit Cebu (at least may na found out na area dinhi na pwede maka call and text). At the moment, this 👇 is where I can go online. 

As of now, my heart bleeds every time I go out and see the many houses without roofs ug ang uban as in totally wrecked, flooded rice fields, some twisted streetlight posts, broken glasses, trunks and other debris that are not yet completely cleared, bald mountains (yung parang kinaingin), and the surroundings that are supposed-to-be-very- green- are-now brown.💔 The forests of this municipality were incomparable. They were protected for decades, but just destroyed in less than 24 hours. Ang sakit!😭 

Where there's no power, broken water pipelines, very limited fuel (gas stations are now close), empty ATM machines, and very  limited phone signals, realizations are keeping us strong and fueling the mind, body and spirit to get up and heed the stronger storms that may come. Also, there are things I have discovered like, Indian trees are wind breakers. So, guys alam nyo na ang gagawin. :) 

Another one is "kwadro aguas" (roof design) is good. (this 👇 house seen below) 

Christmas 2021 may not be as merry as it could be for all the victims of this natural disaster, but still, I am hoping that every one remains faithful, hopeful, and grateful because the LIFE given to us is much more important to any material thing we have lost. 

Still, Merry Christmas to all the people out there! 🙏❣️