The Night When I Walked from Divisoria to Pureza

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I temporarily interrupt my blog silence for one experience that I couldn’t resist posting this blog. I’m talking about my long walk from Divisoria to Pureza because of the heavy rain and the flood this evening. Divisoria and Pureza has a distance of at least 3 kilometers when you followed Recto Avenue and the LRT tracks.

The rain started around 4 PM this afternoon and it’s not just a simple rain. There are strong winds. There are thunder and lightning. It is as if a typhoon suddenly appeared in the city.

With that kind of rain, I know that I going home will be difficult. But I am wrong because going home became extra difficult.

First, there’s no jeepney and the traffic is not moving! So, I had no choice but to walk to LRT – Recto Station. Unfortunately, the train station is surrounded with flood and since the floodwater is disgusting (and I don’t want to wade to floodwater mixed with human pee, human poop, garbage, animal poop and other unimaginable eeky things) I decided to find another flood-less path.

To make the long story short, I walked from Recto to Quiapo Area to San Sebastian Church to Legarda then climbed the Magsaysay Bridge to finally reach an area few meters away from LRT – Pureza Station. This is where the floodwater stopped my long walk.

Vehicles stopped by floodwater near LRT - Pureza Station.

I am not complaining with my experience this evening. Actually, I’m already accustomed with the floods. In fact, surviving Manila means getting accustomed to flood and traffic. Complaining is useless so people just learn to live with it. This evening, many people walked barefoot through the flood to prevent the water from ruining their shoes.

I heard in the news that another heavy rain will fall again tomorrow. I admit that I enjoyed this evening’s long walk but I don’t want a repeat of it tomorrow. I want to go home early and less tired. So, I pray to God that He prevent another heavy rain tomorrow.
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Waterworld of España Boulevard

I was both amazed and baffled last Monday night when I looked at Taft Avenue from the platform of LRT – Pedro Gil Station. The whole stretch of Taft Avenue is submerged in floodwaters! My great dilemma was the fact that I have to go down the LRT station and brave that ultra-mega-super-filthy flood.

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I left that area of Taft Avenue with my sock soaked with disgusting floodwaters. Even my beloved and her sister, whom we fetched from the nearby Robinson's Mall, were not spared. They also braved the flooded Taft Avenue.

The rains and floods that Monday night is just the beginning of the calamity brought by the “habagat” winds. I woke Tuesday morning just to see that major parts of Metro Manila were submerged by floodwaters. People from low-lying areas were evacuated. Many people died by electrecution,drowning and landslide.

I decided to go back to work on Thursday even though many areas are still flooded. Employees, like me, were forced to go work because the government didn't suspend work in government and private offices.

I knew something was amiss when the bus conductor told us that they will be cutting their trip at Blumentritt Street. It only meant that España Boulevard is still flooded. I was not wrong.

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Stranded passengers at Blumetritt corner España Boulevard

I was forced to go down Blumentritt Street because the bus driver didn't want to brave the flooded  España Boulevard. Passenger vehicles are rare so I decided to walk the remeining stretch of  España Boulevard despite the flood.

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Thigh high flood along De La Fuente Street.

There are a lot of people who waded through the flood of  España Boulevard. Most of them are workers who didn't to be late for work. Fortunately, the flood along the side of the boulevard was just as high as my thighs. I might have turn back if the flood rose higher than my hips.

The trains of Philippine National Railways (PNR) continued its operations. Passengers of PNR are fortunate during that day because of it.

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Flooded España Boulevard and the train of PNR.

I saw some buses that passed through the floods of  España Boulevard. I am dismayed when I saw those bus. The bus that I had ridden earlier should have braved the flood for the sake of the passengers. The operator of Universal Guiding Star is such a chicken.

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Bravo Florida Bus Lines!

I know that my ordeal is about to the end when I reached the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

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Walking beside the fence of UST.

UST is one school worst hit by floods. According to news reports, Floods entered UST Hospital and many patients had to be transferred to the upper floors.

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Flooded arch of UST

Morayta is the last part of my journey. I climbed the footbridge to see the extent of the flood. Here is what I saw:

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España Boulevard is totally flooded.

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Morayta Area.

Many people used the flood to earn some money like the people who made this bridge:

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It is good that the classes are suspended. I am sure that students of Far Eastern University (FEU) will be horified to see this:

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I am glad to see that there is no flood at Lerma Street. I am so happy to walk on flood-less street.

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The underpass under Recto Avenue became another big swimming pool. The water in the underpass was gone when I passed yesterday morning.

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Walking along the flooded  España Boulevard is a great experience for me though I will not do it again in the future.

Facing the Wrath of Typhoon Pedring

Typhoon Pedring threw his full force yesterday morning in the City of Manila and I am one of the unfortunate people who had to face it. Despite the heavy rain, I still went to the office because the government and my bosses did not declare any cancellation of  work. My trip to the office was fine and the bus is traveling fast because there are no traffic because classes in universities were canceled.

Everything was OK until I went down the bus and face the strong winds caused by the storm surge. My red umbrella battled with the strong wind but its resistance is futile. In few seconds, my red umbrella was mangled, bent and defeated. I have no other choice but to throw the umbrella away and be soaked in the rain. I am just few steps to the office when I saw an office mate who told me that the Malacanan Palace just announced that work is canceled because of Typhoon Pedring. I am frustrated with the fact I braved the winds and rain for nothing. The government should have made the announcement very early so that office workers, who leave their homes early, will know that work is canceled. Are the inhabitants of Malacanan sleeping?

Interesting things occurred when I started my travel back home. Jeepneys are already full with employees that belatedly received the news of work cancellation. Flood waters are high in some parts of Manila, specifically in Taft Avenue and Roxas Boulevard, and many jeepney drivers decided not to travel anymore. I decided to travel via the LRT but its operation was stopped because of brownout. Typhoon Pedring continued to dump heavy rains and blow strong winds to all of us who are finding a way to go home.

I was forced to walk toward Quiapo Area because it is the only place where I can easily board a bus. Travel was not easy because many parts of Manila are flooded. One of the flooded area is the street of Escolta.
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Flooded Escolta Avenue.

Even the street that goes directly to Quiapo Church is also flooded and people are forced to ride pedicabs to avoid walking through the filthy waters.
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Flooded road to Quiapo Church.

Typhoon Pedring's wrath continue unabated. The storm surge continued while I walk to Quiapo. What scared me is the sound of sheets of metal roofing that is being blown by the wind. I feared that a flying metal sheet might hit me and slice me in halves.
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Sign post of Bank of the Philippine Islands is no match with Typhoon Pedring.

Thankfully, I experienced no harm when I traveled back home. I reached our house just totally soaked because of Typhoon Pedring. I saw the news and other office workers fare worse than me. Many of them walked thhrough knee deep floods. Some were stranded because there are no bus or jeepneys that can pass through the floods.

My Typhoon Pedring experience is not that bad as compared with what I experienced during Typhoon Ondoy. The only thing that disappointed me is the slow action of the government when it comes to cancellation of work. They should have declared the cancellation very early to avoid inconveniences to Filipino workers. The slow action of the government caused many employees to be trapped in the floods and face the full wrath of Typhoon Pedring.

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