Tropical Storm Ondo (Ketsana)

On September 26, 2009 (this past Saturday) the Philippines was hit with the worst flooding it's seen caused by tropical storm Ondoy. This was a stage 1 storm but the rain just didn't stop. Our neighbors took some pictures of the flooding at our building. These pictures were taken at about 10AM that day. It looks like it might as well be midnight. Luckily we weathered the storm in our generator powered high rise condo. I baked, Addie watched movies, Justin prepared for the Hokie game, Bella stayed on her nap schedule. This is not what the majority of Filipinos were experiencing that day. While Makati was hit with flood levels it's probably never experienced before many of the residents in our posh neighborhood were protected by their high rises or other barriers. Single family homes were flooded and are seeing damage but Eastern Luzon was hit much harder. Images of the storm can be found here. The country is still recovering. Power was out for days. The Embassy was closed due to power outages so Justin had an unexpected long weekend. The Philippine Star is still reporting the damages. Right now the death/missing count is 106. A state of emergency has been declared and many efforts to restore food and clean water to displaced families are underway. Suddenly the box of clothes my folks sent for the girls will be finding new homes on the backs of cold, wet, and sick Filipino children. I still can't wrap my head around how lucky we are. Even better news is that Cora and Garry (our driver) and their families are safe and still have their homes and personal belongings.