At the onset of emergencies, people in desperate circumstances are sometimes forced to rely on each other. This gives birth to many unsung heroes – the ones who are on the sidelines; the ones who have quietly made an impact on other people’s lives - even at the expense of their own. One of them is Ramil Aboy, one of WHO’s drivers who live in Borongan, Eastern Samar.
When Typhoon Ruby made landfall on 6 December 2014, the people of Eastern Samar feared the worst. With the warning of a possible storm surge, residents living in coastal areas sought temporary shelter in almost 400 evacuation areas across all of Region 8. With relentless rains and sustained winds of 160kph, floods quickly rose to chest-deep levels. As the typhoon gained strength and the floods rose even higher, this put all affected areas in greater danger - even the evacuation centres where people have already sought refuge.
Here’s Ramil’s story on how he took both children and the elderly to higher and safer ground, saving other people’s lives while putting his own on the line.
Maaari mo bang ikwento yung nangyari nung gabi ng pagdating ng bagyo? (Can you share what happened on the night that Typhoon Ruby hit?)
Noong Sabado ng gabi, dumating yung bagyo. Alas otso hanggang alas dose, ang lakas ng ulan at ng hangin. Pag may naririnig akong dumadagundong, di naman alon kasi malayo kami sa dagat. Malayo ang evacuation center sa dagat. Sabi nila kasi may storm surge daw. Nung tinignan ko, galing pala sa bundok yung tubig! Napakabilis tumaas ng tubig. Kaya yung evacuation center na kinalalagyan namin, naabot na din ng baha.
(It was Saturday evening when the typhoon came. From 8PM until 12AM, we experienced strong winds and non-stop rain. When I heard the sound of waves, I thought it came from the ocean as it was also advised that there might be a storm surge. But our evacuation center was far from the coast. And when I looked at where the water is coming from, I saw that it came from the mountains! The water rose so fast. It was only a matter of seconds when the floods would go even higher, that’s why even our evacuation center too wasn’t spared.)
Nasaan ka noong panahong ito at sino ang kasama mo? (Where were you when this happened and who were you with at that time?)
Barangay Campisaw, kasama ko ang buong pamilya ko. CRF church iyong evacuation center na tinuluyan namin. Sa Barangay Bato kami nakatira pero dahil malapit kami sa dagat, nag-evacuate kami.
(Barangay Campisaw. I was with my whole family. The CRF Church served as our evacuation center. My family and I live in Barangay Bato but since we are very close to the ocean, we had to evacuate.)
Noong nakita mo na tumataas na yung tubig, ano ang ginawa mo? (When you saw the flood waters rising, what did you do?)
Nilikas ko na kaagad yung mga bata, pati yung matatanda. Hanggang dibdib ang baha doon sa kinalagyan namin. Mataas na yung lugar iyon ah.
(I immediately evacuated the children and the elderly to higher ground. The flood in our area was already chest-deep.)
Inuna ko yung mga bata sa evacuation area kasi mahirap kung mataas na yung tubig. Sinurvey ko muna yung dadaanan, sinira ko muna yung bakod sa likod. Tapos sinurvey ko sa may kalsada. Nung nakita ko na di masyado mataas yung tubig sa kalsada, doon ko na dinala yung mga bata.
(The children in the evacuation area were my priority because it would have been difficult to evacuate them if the water was high. First, I destroyed the fence in the back in order to figure out where we could pass. Then I surveyed the road outside to check where there’s less intense flooding. I saw the water was lower on the road and that’s where I brought the children.)
May tubig pa hanggang 9am nung sumunod na araw (Linggo), pero pababa na.
(The flooding lasted until 9am the next day (Sunday), but it eventually cleared as the days went by.)
Hindi ka ba nakaramdam ng takot o pag-aalinlangan? (How did you feel about what happened? Were you scared at first and did you hesitate?)
Nung nililikas ko sila, wala akong nararamdamang pagod, wala akong nararamdamang takot. Ang importante sa akin mailigtas yung mga bata at matatanda.
(When I rescued them, I didn’t feel tired nor did I feel scared. What’s important for me then was to save as much people as I can.)
Masaya lang talaga ako na ligtas ang buong pamilya ko at lahat ng kasama namin sa Barangay Campisaw.
(I’m just really so happy and grateful that all my family members are safe and that all the evacuees of Barangay Campisaw were also unharmed.)