Elderly Marikina couple loses all they have to floods–again

MANY residents of Marikina City are still struggling to recover from the damage that Typhoon «Carina» and the floods brought about by its torrential rains left behind.

Quietly sitting by the door of one of the classrooms of the Malanday Elementary School, 68-year-old Jose Wilmar Enecillo was lost in thought on how he and his family would rise after getting knocked down yet again by the wrath of Mother Nature.

«Parang na-Ondoy kami ulit,» Enecillo told The Manila Times, referring to the second-most devastating tropical cyclone that ravaged Luzon nearly 15 years ago.

«Tatay Jose» recounted the trauma he and his family experienced in September 2009 — so they did not hesitate to leave their home and meager belongings behind when officials of their barangay started evacuating residents as early as Tuesday night.

«The floodwaters rose fast. The ground floor was underwater right away,» he said in Filipino. «It's a good thing my brother's house has a third floor. We were able to evacuate right away, but we lost all our belongings.»

Enecillo said that once he learned that the Marikina River had breached the 20-meter mark, he knew that there was little chance their home, a stone's throw away from the riverbank, would be spared.

True enough, when Tatay Jose, his two adult children and wife Milagros trooped back to their house mostly made of wood, it was covered in all sorts of debris and mud and they had no choice but to pile all their belongings along with the discarded trash their neighbors were hauling in the alley.

Advertisement Residents of Barangay Malanday in Marikina City clean and sort their mud-covered belongings on July 25, 2024, a day after their homes were submerged in flood waters caused by the monsoon rains enhanced by Typhoon 'Carina.' PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN Residents of Barangay Malanday in Marikina City clean and sort their mud-covered belongings on July 25, 2024, a day after their homes were submerged in flood waters caused by the monsoon rains enhanced by Typhoon 'Carina.' PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN Residents of Barangay Malanday in Marikina City clean and sort their mud-covered belongings on July 25, 2024, a day after their homes were submerged in flood