Aftermath: Ondoy and the rest of us (UPDATED Sunday 10:55 am)

Here in the Philippines, Metro Manila and 23 provinces are currently under a state of calamity. This is due to Tropical Storm Ketsana -- known here as Ondoy -- dumping huge amounts of rain on Luzon. It started raining lightly on Sep. 25, Friday, then intensified and continued all the way into Saturday evening. It hammered an average of 2.24 inches of rain per hour, swamping us with a month's worth of rain in a span of six hours. Which is interesting considering I counted almost 24 hours of solid rain (it lightened up a bit near 11pm Saturday night).

News
For more news, check out the various Philippine news site links at the bottom of this page. Or go to Facebook and check out the posts of people based in the Philippines.

Unconfirmed Reports (via Social Networks only, haven't seen on news)

• LRT / MRT operation at 24 hours till crisis over
• open and closed roads: "C5 from Boni to Libis is clear (both lanes) using flyovers. Traffic Ortigas-C5 intersection since portions of Cainta remain impassable. Eastwood interior water-free now but very muddy after the flooding last night. Katipunan White Plains to Miriam College is also clear except for slight build-up on the flyover where Marikina residents and bystanders are waiting it out." outdated, water levels have subsided, but road access unclear.
• SLEX apparently open but really muddy - drive carefully SLEX accessible.
• A Relief Operations Drop-Off Center has been set-up at La Salle Greenhills. Those who are living in the nearby areas may bring clothes, canned goods, instant noodles, medicines and other donations to Gate 2 of La Salle Greenhills, along Ortigas Ave., Mandaluyong.
• (as of 12 noon - 28 Sep 2009) Ateneo has enough volunteers, but needs canned goods. La Salle Greenhills needs cars. Xavier School has enough cars but needs donations. Please go where you're needed. Whitespace Pasong Tamo needs 2nd wave of volunteers
• also check this post on the latest donation needs.

Pleas for Rescue

• Here's an updated (as far as I can tell) list of people in need of rescue in a publicly visible Google spreadsheet.
• Here's a Google Maps view of some people needing rescue on the GMA tv news site.
• Here's a list of people at ADMU as of around 230 am this morning (taken from Raoul Veroy's FB link)

Emergency Numbers (UPDATED LIST of Numbers and Donation Recommendations HERE)

1. National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Emergency Numbers: 912-5668, 911-1406, 912-2665 and 911-5061.
2. Bagyong Ondoy Hotline for anyone who needs help: 734-2118 and 734-2120.
3. NCRPO Hotline for rubber boats and trucks requests: 838-3203 and 838-3354.
4. MMDA: 136. Coast Guard: 527-6136.
5. Marikina Boat Rescue Number: 646-2436
6. PAG-ASA: 433-8526
7. Philippine Red Cross: 143 or 527.0000

Really just relaying these numbers from other sources, such as the LiveJournal of a friend and former colleague and various posts on Facebook. Check this link for an updated listing of numbers.

Video and Pic Links

If you want to get a better idea of the damage wrought (or you haven't had your fill yet from the various news sites) check out these links.

• Flash flood in Marikina snags a delivery truck; water reaches top of woman's front gate
• Van swept away in flash flood
• An FB album of pics (including Cristine Reyes -- a local celeb -- on a rooftop)
• Another FB album of pics in DLSU (the monobloc chair bridge album, cheekily titled The Day After Tomorrow: De La Salle Edition)
• Another FB album of pics for Katipunan (near Ateneo)
• Another video of cars in the floods (UERM, Aurora)
• And a photomontage video

That's it for Monday afternoon.

Storm Signals: The Technology Trap

It's funny, just the other day I visited James Burke's website and was treated to a series of my favorite videos-- the old Connections documentary series -- and was watching James Burke expound on how much we take our modern living for granted.

And now here I am after spending the morning making general preparations for some of the possible problems the current storm might inflict on me and my family.

It's not a matter of storm intensity, really -- it's the continuous rainfall. It hasn't stopped raining since last night, and it's already mid-afternoon. There are floods everywhere in Metro Manila, and I can see the water levels still rising along Don Chino Roces Ave. (also known as Pasong Tamo.)

According to an update from the Philippine Star news site:

...C5 Road, EDSA, Mandaluyong, Cainta, Caloocan, Parañaque and Cavite are also flooded.

So here are some of the preparations we're making in anticipation of the cessation of power and water:

1. make sure we have candles and a lighter;
2. make sure we've charged our combination radio / flashlight / electric fan;
3. make sure we've filled our available buckets with water;
4. charge all battery powered communication devices (laptops and cellphones);
5. check the various windows and doorways for leaks and floods.

Useful list for folks trying to move to higher ground:

(1) Drinking water

(2) Charged phones

(3) Working flashlights

(4) Radio with batteries

(5) Important documents in overnight bag

(6) Energy bars, canned food

(7) Alcogel

(8) Change of clothes

(9) Garbage bag

(10) Small towels

Blogs, Twitter, the Internet, and Citizen Journalism

I was reading my regular news sources and came across this article:

Mumbai Attack Aftermath Detailed, Tweet by Tweet


While the title may seem insensitive or even offensively flippant given the nature of the Mumbai tragedy, the article itself tackles something interesting - the rise of citizen journalism and how it's empowered by the Internet's many tools.

In one of my short stories (awaiting publication), I tackled how this might unravel in the Philippine setting with a thriller / conspiracy / mundane SF slant, but what's happening in Mumbai and on the 'Net is different. It's awe-inspiring because of how many different people posting articles (even just updating their twitter accounts), updating Wikipedia, creating Google Maps, and uploading pictures to Flickr, can give a very broad and deep (if somewhat questionable in terms of authenticity or impartiality) view of what is unfolding RIGHT NOW.