Cagayan de Oro Flooding: A Tragic Start for 2009

It started raining the past few weeks and days, but last Saturday (January 3, 2009) the rain didn’t stop and the Cagayan River started to rise. 7 were reported missing and feared dead. Many of my fellow Kagay-anons were forced to leave their homes for their safety.

I feel for those who lost their homes and valuable belongings – many lost their livelihood stocks to the flood. This is going to be a sad New Year start for my fellow Kagay-anons.

Behind our house is the Cagayan de Oro river. I consider myself and my family lucky to have been spared this calamity. Our house is situated much higher than the river level - it is as if we have a mini-cliff in our backyard and our house is situated right at the mini-cliff’s tip. But just like everyone else, we panicked and would check the river water level from time to time.

Here is a picture taken by my brother. He took this at around 9am using his cellphone. The water rose to as high as 8 to 10 ft. As you can see, the dark, murky waters will greet you as soon as you open the screen door of our back door.

For more pictures, just click on this link. This has been the worst flooding in our City since 1964. As of today, January 6, 2009, there are still a few reported missing and body counts are rising.

To all my fellow Kagay-anons out there, may you find the strength and the courage to go on. Don't ever lose hope & always have faith. Everything will be okay soon. My prayers go out to all of you.