Ricky Poca
I AM amazed at the images I saw in CNN of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey that hit the US state of Texas with thousands of homes inundated by floodwater and thousands of people stranded in offices and buildings.
There were 28 people dead as I was writing this, but what is so heroic is that we see civilians helping each other and one time I saw civilians help load the wheelchair-bound elderly into waiting helicopters.
CNN reported that the 911 hotline had been inundated with calls that civilians are compelled to help each other out to survive.
The sight of an inundated Texas is horrendous, but what makes this different to our country is that we could hardly see mounds of garbage there unlike here in the Philippines where mounds of garbage filled with plastic block the waterways.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania visited Texas to check the damage brought by Hurricane Harvey, and the President vowed to expedite the recovery of Texas.
While an oil refinery pipeline in Houston has been closed due to the floods, resulting in a fuel crisis in the state, the water supply is slowly running out in some towns.
First responders are challenged with the herculean task of searching and rescuing many residents who are stranded in their homes and in different places. Let us pray that they survive this latest tragedy.
The worst is not yet over for Texas as another storm is brewing towards the same path of Hurricane Harvey. Let us pray that the new storm called Irma may spare Texas.
What is so inspiring in Texas is the show of solidarity of Texans in helping those in need. For us Filipinos, this should serve as a lesson to prepare for emergencies caused by natural and man-made calamities.
That lesson goes double for the government whose experience with the earthquakes and supertyphoons like Yolanda showed just how woefully unprepared and ill-equipped it is that it needs the international community to bail them out.
To us who are spared from the path of supertyphoons or earthquakes, we should show empathy and compassion and call on our God and the saints to help those devastated by the calamities.
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