BY JOSEPH PEDRAJAS
“Bayanihan” was in full display on stormy Thursday as social media sites were practically turned into virtual emergency hotlines.
Uprooted trees, fallen electric posts, and some individuals begging for help and to be rescued after they were trapped inside their homes were reported almost every minute after typhoon Ulysses lashed many parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces that left thousands in fear and tears.
“Parang awa nyo na po sana may makapansin nito. Kailangan po ng rescue ng pamilya ko sa Montalban (Rizal),” Rowena Bragas said in a Facebook post around 6 a.m., “This is urgent!!! Second floor na po ang baha at malakas padin ang ulan at hangin,”
Arnel Arevalo, another social media user, added: “Help please! If you know anyone from Montalban, Rizal LGU please let them know that there are still a lot of resident here in Celina Homes 4 who are trapped in their 2nd floor. No sign of rescuers/responder yet. Signal is bad too. Power is out.”
Facebook and Twitter users woke up to a countless number of posts and tweets of people asking for help. These include the viral photos of residents of Rizal province, who found refuge on the roof of their houses after their community completely submerged into flood.
Some were even seen carrying infants.
“Sa mga nakakabasa po, patulong. Kailangan po namin ng rescue, marami pong baby po dito nasa taas na po kami ng bahay, kasama mga kapitbahay po namin. Malapit na po kami abutin, mga 20+ po kami, 10 bata po kasama 5 baby,” Micca Lorreine De Jesus of Montalban town said.
The term #RescuePH became trending on Twitter as people seeking assistance used the hashtag to aggregate information of those needing to be rescued.
Local government units, including Valenzuela City, used social media to monitor the situation of their constituents, especially those in need of rescue teams.
They also resorted to online posting to keep their constituents informed, like what the government of Navotas and Pasay cities did when two vessels ran aground and damaged structures in their areas.
As typhoon Ulysses, which reached Signal Level No. 3, barreled into the National Capital Region, the hotlines of the Armed Forces of the Philippines were overwhelmed with calls, its spokesman, Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo, said over DZMM interview.
Despite several evacuation orders enforced a day earlier, many individuals ended up trapped inside their houses. They could no longer find a way out due to rushing waters.
For instance, in flood-prone area of Barangay Bagong Silangan in Quezon City, the local government had to deploy at least four rescue boats to fetch the residents, joining the nearly 10,000 individuals who were earlier evacuated.
Rescuers, whose operation started as early as midnight, paddled through the waist-deep flood.
Many residents, especially of Rizal province and Marikina city, also bore the brunt of the typhoon after losing their houses to murky flood.
Social distancing aimed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was also hardly observed among the affected individuals as they tried to fit themselves into limited elevated spaces. Some were no longer wearing face masks.
The ferocious wind brought by the typhoon toppled trees and torn away scaffolding of several buildings under construction.
In Barangay 187 in Caloocan City, a man sustained leg injury after a tree felled towards their house, a certain Cham Oliveros said in a Facebook post. (Joseph Pedrajas)
