Amidst the Pouring Rain Many people would not have thought that August 19,2013, Quezon City

Day, would become like a holiday for everyone in Metro Manila, and that the holiday would continue on for two more days. Perhaps some students and even employees rejoiced, happy to stay in their cozy homes and be free from work or school for three whole days. But for some other people, it was like a nightmare that they could not wake up from. The rain started pouring heavily in the afternoon of August 18, Sunday. It rained almost nonstop, and the next day, many areas declared suspension of classes. PAGASA raised warning signals, announcing the intensification of Maring made even more threatening by the simultaneous onslaught of a Southwest monsoon or habagat. The combined ferocity of these two unstoppable forces flooded 80% of Metro Manila. Many roads were simply impassable, and hundreds of peoples homes and possessions were destroyed. Total damages were estimated at six hundred thirty three million pesos. Worse of all, twenty one people lost their lives. This is not the first time that Metro Manila has gone underwater. It has occurred a year ago, two years ago, and even four years ago! For a lot of the typhoon victims, flooding has actually lost its novelty, and perhaps some of its horror. It seems that they are already pretty much used to it, and have learned to accept it quite matter of factly. Such apathy towards these natural tragedies is really more tragic than the actual disasters. Have they lost trust on the governments ability to help them? What should the government do prevent further flooding in the future? What causes flooding? In the first place, there are already problems with the drainage system of the Philippines. Most of our drainage systems are not maintained well, and people are wont to throw trash into it. The drains get clogged and rain water, when it comes down hard and fast, is not able to flow through the drains. The same problem goes for our waterways like rivers. Flood waters should be able to flow into the rivers if only trash were not clogging them up. With these in mind, it is clear that it is the citizens themselves who are causing the flood. People need to be educated about the consequences of irresponsible throwing of trash. The government has this responsibility to wake up the Filipinos from their apathy and teach them proper disposal of trash. As long as this is not achieved, Metro Manila will continue to suffer from severe flooding. Maybe the Philippine government has fallen short of doing its job to prevent flooding. Maybe it has not educated the people enough, or built proper drainage systems or holding dams. Still, no matter what the government has done or not done, the answer to the problem still lies within each Filipino. Each citizen must look within them and identify their flaws and fix them. Filipinos must be able to stand on their own and not depend on others to help them. Each one should be responsible for their own actions. It should not just be the government who should be making a difference; every Filipino should make the change. For though a single Filipinos effort may seem small, if everyone in the Philippines will take a stand, then the country will be a better place, with better people, and better life for each and every Filipino.

Selena So