‘Back to zero’: Manila flood victims face daunting task of cleaning up, rebuilding lives
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Typhoon Gaemi left behind streets caked with mud and littered with rubbish and debris.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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MANILA – Street vendor Zenaida Cuerda is “back to zero” after flood waters washed away the food she sells for a living and swept through her house.
She is one of thousands in the Philippine capital Manila coming to terms with their losses from the relentless rain, after Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon.
“All my capital is gone. I have nothing now,” Ms Cuerda said, as she wiped away tears outside the concrete house she shares with her sister.
“I don’t have a husband any more. I can’t rely on my children because they have their own families.”
At least 20 people were killed in Manila and its surrounding provinces as the heavy rain triggered floods and landslides.
More than 320mm of rain fell on the capital in 24 hours on July 25.
Flood waters quickly reached chest-height
When the waters receded, they left behind muddy streets strewn with rubbish and other debris.
As journalists drove around the city on July 25, mattresses, wooden furniture and bags of rubbish were seen piled up outside houses and shops as people got on with the task of cleaning up.
At the pharmacy where he works, Mr Pedro Parado was still coming to terms with the suddenness of the flooding.
“We couldn’t believe that the floods would be that great. Everyone here was surprised,” the 40-year-old said.
“When the rain poured, we went upstairs. We carried all of our things, including the medicines, so they wouldn’t get wet.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr joined relief efforts on July 25, handing out food parcels to people hardest hit by the floods, who also tend to be the city’s poorest.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr joined relief efforts on July 25, handing out food parcels to people hardest hit by the floods.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Mr Marcos said more areas of the city were flooded than when Typhoon Ketsana, known in the Philippines as Ondoy, hit in 2009.
“The amount of water was not as bad as Ondoy, but the effect was greater than Ondoy,” he said while in a hardscrabble neighbourhood near Manila Bay.
“This is what the effects of climate change are,” he said.
Despite having experienced flooding in the past, Ms Cuerda thought she would avoid it this time after the authorities deepened the river next to her house.
“We really thought we weren’t going to be flooded,” she said.
“Everything was so sudden. We’re now back to zero. It’s always like this.” AFP
