During the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong, I was in San Pedro, Laguna. Thankfully, my hometown was spared by the typhoon. For some who, like me, weren’t in the center of the calamity, it might be easy to undermine the gravity of the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the country this year, but they need only to open their timelines or scroll their feeds to see the true impact of Ompong, one of the largest typhoons we’ve had yet. With its monstrous size covering almost the entire country, netizens whose hometowns have sadly bore the brunt of the calamity, showed us the true face of Typhoon Ompong.
Baguio and Benguet were most affected by the typhoon. Sadly, casualties were reported. The storm ravaged different parts of the area, including the Loakan airport, strawberry farm, Minesview, La Trinidad, and Marcos highway. Flooding was uncontrollable, and the amount of rain also triggered landslides. Photos shared by netizens will give you the better picture.
In IIocos Norte, power outages, as well as the lack of telephone and Internet signals affected most towns. About 9,000 people moved to evacuation centers. Even this gas station in San Nicolas collapsed due to the strength of the wind.
Tuguegarao City in Cagayan suffered severely, too. Even the roof of Cagayan’s Capitol gave out. Baggao Town, specifically, suffered most, with the storm’s 300 kilometers per hour wind strength uprooting trees, tearing over signages, and completely destroying houses.
Other parts within and near Metro Manila obtained damage too, due to the strong winds. In Los Baños, Laguna, netizens showed the alarming number of trees uprooted.
In flood-prone areas such as Marikina, many were forced to evacuate. Locals were also alarmed by the formation of a tornado within the area.
While, the storm is out of the Philippine area of responsibility, it’s still important to keep safe. For those who weren’t as affected, don’t forget to be grateful and be mindful of others’ situations. Above anything else, prioritize showing empathy or helping out those who were affected by typhoon Ompong, in any way you can.
Photo courtesy of PAGASA via Inquirer.net
For the latest in culture, fashion, beauty, and celebrities, subscribe to our weekly newsletter here
Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Viber
Related stories:
True stories of typhoon Yolanda take a shakespearian spin
Let the effects of tropical storm Karding serve as a wake-up call
Stop the insensitivity when a natural calamity is happening
An open letter to Imee Marcos: Why moving on is out of the question