Milenyo Stress in Cotabato

Yesterday, Typhoon Milenyo struck Manila. I was in Mindanao, far from the storm but I kept in  touch  with my children in Metro Manila. I called up to remind them to sweep and clean up the balcony drainage so as to prevent flooding upstairs. I texted them a number of times to ask if the wind was still blowing hard or slowing down. Angel and Marion informed me separately that there was no electricity. They also informed me that the gutter in the balcony gave way because of the strong wind. And that Tom got drenched as he fixed the problem temporarily to prevent the sudden out flow of water and flooding.

I tried to reached them again around 5 pm, to ask if electricity had come back but to my dismay nobody was answering any call whether through the landline or cellphone. I  could not reach anybody...the neighbor nor the relatives. I switched on the tv and learned that the entire Luzon area was out of electricity, classes remained suspended for another day. I tried calling and texting again and again. It was not until passed 11:30 pm that I got a response from marion. She told me the light was still out, the landline was out too, everybody's cellphone battery was down and her battery was running low too. Cellsite was not working good but I guessed all else was ok. I could not sleep well thinking of them in far darken Manila but what else could I do but prayed for everybody's safety.