When the Guadalupe river overflowed

It happened on a Monday morning about fifty years ago. There was no typhoon, but early that day the rain started pouring. It was a strong downpour which kept us kids from attending our afternoon class at the San Nicolas elementary school. I was in grade five then, and worried about missing a recitation, I wanted to brave the rain using an over-sized GI raincoat.

But Mother ordered us to stay put, perhaps sensing the possibility of a flood. True enough flood came without warning. Suddenly the water in our place (we were residing in B. Aranas near Lakandula street) rose a meter or two high. It came rather quietly not in current, dark brown and carrying detritus and-surprise! - pieces of pan de sal, "pinisi" and other bakery products plus other market stuffs, for Monday was (and is) market day in Taboan.

I remember I jumped into the water and started retrieving those usable flotsam even as Mother was threatening me with her latigo. The water was only up to my shoulders so I waded here and there while catching those floating articles and throwing these up to my elder brother who was perched on our pantawan. After about an hour the water subsided and by late afternoon none but its muddy trail was left.

My brother and I went outside our compound and into the street, or what was left of it, for the entire stretch was covered with mud and sands and waste materials of various types-tree branches, nipa roofings, bamboo twigs and others. We were looking at these, wondering of nature's power that devastated the area when suddenly a boy cried out and pointed to something on the ground. It was a dead body, that of a woman (we found out later) buried in mud and sand with only a leg protruding. Then people started milling around and some of them began digging out the body with their bare hands.

There were other dead bodies near the Taboan area, we heard people talking, but we had enough of a shocking sight, so we rushed home to inform Mother about it. It was indeed a traumatic experience for a boy of eleven, and for some nights after that I had nightmares about it.

But this piece is not about a boy's fears. It's about a killer flood which hit a part of Cebu City years ago. Having seen the devastation and death in Manila and Luzon recently, this writer remembers what happened then right in this City.

Suppose a rainfall of Ondoy and Pepeng's magnitude were to hit Cebu City, how many bodies would float? In the 1950's no one heard about climate change. The Guadalupe river was really a river, its full-bodied water clear and clean. There were no settlers along its banks, while the hillsides above its source were lush with trees and greenery. Despite these flooding happened. Today, of course, a worse one would happen if the heavens, God forbid, would one day open up and torrential rain cascades into our City.

Like the Tagalogs we have abused Mother Nature. We have converted our river beds and banks into settlement areas. Our esteros are full of trash and refuse. Our hillsides are bone bare. And sadly, there's no flood control mechanism. A few minutes of rain and downtown streets become Venetian canals. An Ondoy-type phenomenon? The impact could be a mind-boggling tragedy. Osmeña boulevard, D. Jakosalem, V. Rama and M.J. Cuenco streets and others would become raging rivers speeding at great force toward the sea carrying everthing along the way like plastic articles.

When the sky clears mud would be everywhere. Rocks and sands and garbage would clog the streets. Dead bodies probably would be here and there even as many of these could be seen floating in the sea. Rescue operation? There would be none because it would all happen very quickly. Retrieval of course would take place along with clean-up and repair jobs

One consoling thing: Water would not tarry by like in Marikina and Laguna, so normal life would be back in a week or two. But the finger-pointing would take longer before it settles down. There would be voices demanding investigations and reform. Yet after a time the event would be only half remembered and we would be back to our usual ways.

River beds would once again teem with squatters. Esteros would be cleared, then forgotten and unattended and become as usual everyone's dumping pit. Trees would be planted and publicity made, but none would root deep enough to hold water. As for flood control, one could dream of this but none would happen in his lifetime.

Once upon a time a river in our City caused a deluge and devastation. But no one remembered about it until Ondoy and Pepeng came. And no one bothered to do something about flood prevention.