‘When the water subsided, I noticed our home was gone’ – That is local weather breakdown

• Location Sitio Gipit, Philippines

• Catastrophe Hurricane Carina, 2024

Leoncia Ibanez lived in Sitio Gipit, a small settlement on the outskirts of Antipolo. In August 2024, Tremendous Hurricane Carina, additionally known as Gaemi, hit the Philippines; mixed with monsoon rains, it triggered widespread flooding. The torrential rain and excessive winds have been made worse by the local weather disaster, which can be making such tropical storms extra frequent.

We have been shocked by how shortly the water rose and the sturdy currents. We didn’t know the place to go, and so we ended up within the water. The Lord was our solely hope. The home we lived in was fully washed away.

My kids panicked, and I didn’t know what to avoid wasting first. All our belongings have been submerged, and every thing we invested in was washed away as a result of the water got here so immediately. Neither of my kids knew the right way to swim, and the water was over our heads, so I prioritised saving them. I let go of our belongings, however I saved our lives. One baby virtually misplaced his life, however thank God we survived.

Our home had a number of timber round it, so we climbed up a tree to outlive, utilizing a rope to safe ourselves. The water stored rising till it reached my ft. The water was so deep [but] the Lord took care of us.

My kids have been crying and there have been plenty of logs and wooden hitting us. I closed my eyes till I handed out. At the very least my household is complete.

When the water subsided, I noticed that our home was gone. Solely the bathroom bowl was left. We had nothing left. My daughter and I each had large wounds, and the Purple Cross gave us drugs. My kids are nonetheless traumatised and recovering, and my husband nonetheless has some ache in his facet from being hit by a log. However not less than we’re collectively.

Beginning over was so tough. I didn’t know the place to start. Our livelihood was destroyed, and our two motorbikes have been broken, which have been our essential supply of revenue.

We used to promote fish balls and road meals. That’s how we earned cash for our day by day wants, together with my two kids’s education. However the floods washed every thing away.

We managed to avoid wasting one motorcycle, and we’re nonetheless making an attempt to restore it, however we misplaced the opposite one. We’re in a tough scenario and don’t know the place we’ll get cash for meals. There’s a lot that must be fastened and it’s costly.

We don’t have a home but; ours remains to be caught within the timber. We don’t know what the federal government’s plan is for us. There have been 14 households right here, and the flood swept us away. We have been pressured to evacuate to a college in Marcelino, however courses had already began, so we needed to depart and transfer right into a shelter.

We’re nonetheless dwelling there briefly. That’s our present scenario. The Purple Cross gave us sleeping mats, which we positioned on some wooden to sleep on. We had nothing left, not even one factor.

We haven’t been capable of restart our livelihood but. We nonetheless don’t have an revenue. We accumulate scraps, steel, and galvanised iron sheets that may’t be used any extra, and we promote them on the junk store to get some cash. We’re spending most of our cash on water. That’s how we’re surviving. We don’t purchase a lot, simply sardines and greens. We’ve additionally acquired meals donations from variety folks.

I hope for a greater life for my kids sooner or later. We’re outdated already, and I hope we are able to nonetheless handle them and supply a greater future for them. However I’m afraid that this might occur once more, and I don’t need it to. It makes me actually nervous.

I can’t see a lot hope proper now. We’re simply counting on the Lord. I inform my kids to check arduous for his or her future, as a result of we don’t know what the federal government or anybody will do to assist us. We don’t know the way we’ll survive or begin once more. We don’t know the place to start.

For me, this case reveals who your actual associates are and who’s keen to assist from the center. I’m grateful to my neighbours and lots of others in our barangay [district] who didn’t abandon us. Regardless of the scenario, we survived, and I’ll always remember this expertise. Now, we’re doing our greatest to maintain our household collectively.

This interview was facilitated by the Worldwide Federation of Purple Cross and Purple Crescent Societies