Davao city experienced not one but two 'major major' tragedies yesterday, the 28th day of June. First was the freak accident that happened along Mc Arthur high way, Matina, wherein 4 kinds of vehicle rammed with each other resulting to 3 casualties and multiple injuries. It happened at around 3 in the afternoon. I was at my cousin's place at that time when my uncle told us that there was an accident along Mc Arthur high way. When I learned about it, the first thing that comes to my mind was my daughter. It's already time to go home from school and they usually pass along Mc Arthur high way. I tried sending her a text message but I remembered she did not bring her cellphone that day in school. I was so worried that I immediately went home to check and was so relieved when I saw her playing with her cousins. Later as I watched TV from the local news, I learned that a dump truck carrying 50 sacks of cement was the culprit behind the accident. The brakes of the truck failed so it rammed 3 other vehicles including a bus, a public utility vehicle and a taxi. The impact was so strong that it literally crushed the two smaller vehicles. Two persons died instantly and later on the driver of the PUJ also died early this morning. May their souls rest in peace.
Another terrible news that happened yesterday was the flash flood. The sad part was that the people were caught unaware. It happened too fast that it took more than 20 lives and more were still missing. It was around 10 pm last night when rain began to pour heavily. I am still awake at that time, because I am chatting with my sister now based in USA. There was thunder and lightnings and I told her I had to cut short our chatting session because I have to unplug some electrical connections. Little did I know that some neighboring villages were already submerge in water. Residential places turned instantly like a river. It damages lots of lives and properties in just a short span of time. I did not know about the incident until morning when I was awaken by my friend's text message asking me if I am alright. I replied yes and asked her why she was asking me that. So she told me about the flood and it is only then that I learned the truth. I think this was the worst flood that happened to our city. Cars were swept away, appliances, personal belongings..etc. I can still vividly recall the super typhoon Ondoy last September of 2009 where I did experienced personally, because I am in Manila at that time staying with my brother's house in Pasig City. I have to flee towards a cousin's place in Batangas City and I was left with no choice but to wade through neck deep murky flood waters of Pasig just to get away from the flood. It was the worst experience so far for me. Seeing cars piled on top of another along the streets, it was indeed a horrible sight. Moreover, while we were trying to get to the bus terminal, we could not find any place to eat and we also had a hard time finding a restroom. Now, I could not believed it did happened to Davao too. Luckily, the place that I resided was not much affected by the flood but I really pity those families that lost not only properties but loveones as well. It was just a good thing that the city government of Davao was so prompt in helping the victims, especially the city mayor. Although there had been a lot of issues regarding the drainage system of the city and most people believed that it was the major reason why the said flash flood happened without a warning. Anyway as a dabawenyo, I think this is not the right time to point fingers especially in these trying times. It did happened to other places too, and I guess it is about time that all people, be it from Davao or not will indeed do something to preserve our environment or our mother earth to be exact. What goes around comes around, so if we do not help in our own little way, it is most likely that floods and other calamities are expected to come in the near future.
On the lighter side however, inspite of what happened, dabawenyos still stayed optimistic. Perhaps it is because of the people's faith in the Lord. In fact today is the feast of St. Peter and people trooped towards San Pedro Church to join the celebration. This is one of the oldest church and landmark situated mainly at the heart of the city. The flood did not prevent the people from attending mass and the church was still overflowing. Surely there are still a lot of things to be thankful for. So after the mass this morning ( my daughter and I attended the 11am mass ), free lunch were distributed, though you just have to endure the long lines of people just to get it. Nonetheless, I hope we will all join together to pray for all the victims as well as their families.
