Saturday, September 24, 2005
Days of outpour
It's been raining for days...and not just here but all over the globe it seems. Bicol is devastated once again. It's one thing to get used to having typhoons not just knock at (or should I say knock off) your door but losing your property is something else. More so the loss of life.Around six people perished here the past days because of the storm. No matter how many storms the Philippines has weathered, we can never get use to people losing their lives because of these. It's the same story in New Orleans a few weeks back and in India the past few days. And now it's wait and see with Hurricane Rita.
It was a mass exodus to say the least in Texas but things just don't always turn out the way we would have wanted despite all the preparations and the good intentions. The exasperation of those stuck at Interstate 45 is understandable. Imagine being stuck there during a Category 5 hurricane. I also can imagine how their local officials are feeling. They have tried their best to have people evacuate...but probably did not anticipate this traffic jam. I'm sure they are the last to want to see much casualties and have tried to do what they thought was best given the limited time to plan their operations.If people in the Philippines think rescue and relief operations suck here, maybe by now they have realized no relief and rescue operations anywhere in the world is a breeze. You'd think the US, who is fast to respond to disasters in other countries, will handle their own disasters like clockwork. Now we are seeing that relief and rescue is not an exact science. It is next to impossible to accurately calculate what needs to be done. We can only hope that we calculate our actions well and hope for the best.
In the end, when the dust settles (or in this case when the water subsides), there will be another kind of outpouring. There will be an outpouring of help and prayers for all those affected by the outpouring of rains all over the world.
