Reign of the Summer Rain

Does insult really add to injury? People have to wash floors and stuff that have been soaked with floodwater. Then, they turn the faucet, and not a drip comes out. Are we supposed to wallow in wet and watery ways? Thank God, somehow, the sockets of my extension cord managed to save itself from the invading water. I know that the Rumangrap Spring in Curry has been depleting with water supply for the recent years, but can’t we do something about it? Why do some areas have a good supply of faucet flow? Why do some areas which coincidentally are areas with schools and a hospital get deficient deployment? Picture a scene of Grade III pupils with buckets trying to look for a faucet in the campus which would give a little drop. Why, you ask, would they be busy fetching water. Those blasted teachers again? Because they just did number one, and social responsibility demands that they flush the liquid waste, lest the whole class lose their motivation to learn.

There’s one thing more. Why does the power trip off in the middle of a sweaty sweltering afternoon? It’s too hot. It’s too hot. It’s too hot. I just had to write it thrice for emphasis. What good is air conditioning without electrons flowing on those wires?

Yes, maybe the flood control facility did not work. Maybe, there was something wrong with it. Maybe, they should check on it. Maybe, it really did work. Maybe, it was effective after all. It’s just that the amount of rainfall was far more than usual and expected. There have been places which used to be safe from rising torrents, and now had their walls discolored by waters which reached higher than anticipated. Remember December 16 to 18, 2022. There was no typhoon then, but rains ravaged roads and claimed them to be theirs. There was no tropical cyclone wind signal then, not even number one.

Some blame it on government officials. Maybe, they bear some accountability. Maybe, there was something more that could have been done, and still could be done. Maybe, the engineers did not deliver efficiently as expected. Maybe, it’s those residents who insist on tossing their non-biodegradables on the streets, and eventually clogging the drainage ditches.

On a radio interview, I heard the government official attribute the floods to people’s lack of discipline on garbage disposal. The anchor countered that the official can’t blame the public, and that it’s more the government’s fault. I would counter that by asserting that whatever the state may implement, if the citizens are a careless crowd, no flood control program would work. Ultimately, the public bears the greater responsibility.

On top of it all, maybe, it’s nature breaking its previous records. We never know. Some freak virus succeeded to put the whole world on lockdown. Some freak storms could put any flood control structure out of businessuseless.

What then do we do now? Shall we let the next deluge drown us? I suppose, that would be misuse of intelligence. I guess, there’s not much to do but to do something about it. If that structure did not do much, maybe, we just have to go back to the drawing board and figure out where it went wrong. Maybe, some of the screws here and there have to be tightened. Maybe, there’s some new science that would make it more effective. While they’re at it, we could keep doing what we so far know as effective. We have done so much to develop that we consider as discipline among our neighbors. If you’re one of those who tightly segregate your trash and watch as the guy next block leave his mess around. I’ll join you a sigh of resignation. Who knows? Maybe, this time, we’ll inch a bit towards better conditions. When the next tropical cyclone comes cycling around, can we please send the students home early so that they don’t go chasing tricycles for a ride while the rain rages and ruins their socks and shoes. Then the next time, the weather wallops us wildly, we’ll get up and wipe our wet worries. Maybe, that’s just how nature goes. Maybe, what I’m trying to say is, let’s just protect each other without pomp or pride, keeping each other safe without self-aggrandizement.

Now, let’s go back to the water and power again. Can we do something to keep the water flowing out those faucets? It would be a lot better if it were flowing like a flashflood. Can we keep the power running? We’re sweating hard here.

Ezra 10:13: But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly