Displaced families brave nature’s fury

Two families, already displaced from their previous homes, faced the brutal force of typhoon “Carina” when torrential rains submerged their new refuge in Quezon City on Wednesday.

Joshua Moya, interviewed by DAILY TRIBUNE on Wednesday afternoon, recounted their harrowing ordeal. His cousin, Joseph Moya, along with his live-in partner Karen Cada and their child, had settled beside a creek at Sitio Pajo, Baesa in Quezon City, right next to Joseph’s father, Homer Moya. The three had been unreachable since their desperate call for help at noon yesterday.

“The last time I talked to him, he was asking for help and rescue as the creek beside their house was beginning to rise. He said they could not leave through the alley to get to the street outside, as the floodwaters were already neck deep,” Joshua said in a telephone interview.

At 2 p.m., Joshua posted a plea on Facebook, calling for assistance from authorities as the houses of his cousin and father were inundated by the river and the floodwaters.

“They called me crying for help. They were on the roof,” Joshua narrated.

Fortunately, by 4 p.m., Joshua managed to contact his family members who informed him that they had safely reached the evacuation center in their barangay.

“They were not rescued by the barangay because Barangay Baesa lacked rescue equipment. They bravely made their way through the sides of the creek to get out alive,” Joshua recounted in Filipino.

Joshua and the flood victims were previously displaced from Natividad Street, Barangay Paltok, also in Quezon City, after the landowner reclaimed the property, forcing Joseph and Homer to seek new homes. They never anticipated that their new haven would transform into an “ocean” during the rainy season.

Joseph and his family were just some of roughly one million people affected by the relentless rains brought by tropical cyclone “Butchoy,” typhoon “Carina,” and the southwest monsoon since Tuesday night, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

In its 8 a.m. bulletin on Wednesday, the NDRRMC reported that a total of 882,861 people, or 183,464 families, were affected by the three weather systems.

As the waters begin to recede, the resilience and fortitude of these families shine through, highlighting their unyielding spirit in the face of nature’s fury. But their plight underscores a pressing need for improved disaster response and preparedness to ensure that no family is left stranded and crying for help from their rooftops again.