So we ate early and got ourselves ready for the onslaught. Even though I knew a storm was coming, a big part of my brain was nonchalant. We had Yolanda come through and that was very scary, but the house survived unscathed. For some twisted reason, that experience was my unconscious benchmark for storm fear. We had survived that so there was nothing to fear with Odette...
We live on a hill in the northern part of the city. But given my thoughtlessness about what was to come, I also did not realize the added risks our location posed. The winds started around 7pm where I was. The rains were not as bad as Yolanda but the winds were very gusty. In fact, these were the gustiest winds I've ever experienced in my lifetime. Then the house shuddered. I knew this was more than Yolanda then.
Ours is a house with many windows. We had left only two windows opened to let the air pressure circulate. But 30 mins into the ordeal, we knew it was not enough. Our unfinished gutters with banging with force. We saw roofs were flying, which we thought was ours. And the reinforcement for the "roof window" was clattering open by the minute.
We stared at that roof window for a long time, many many minutes, only to realize that we can't control it if it blew off. We knew the construction dudes had fortified it with plywood, tarp and rope. We can only hope it would hold. Even if it opened, we were praying it wouldn't open fully since the wind and rain would flood the house if that happened.
Having decided we could do little to help the roof window stay intact. We busied ourselves with other things. Rags had to be placed to manage the rain splatter from the roof window opening. Windows had to be fortified with extra string as the rattling intensified. The eye of the storm was getting nearer. It was around 8pm.
I made the decision to check the back door and see if I could hold it open to help with the house pressure. The clattering windows and house shudders were terrifying. Thankfully, the direction of the wind didn't cause rain to come in from the back door. So I held it open and tried to manage the rain splatters that did come in. At this point we had lost power already and were managing damage control by phone flashlights and candle light.
The winds gained more strength The roof window reinforcement banged opened to 50%. The gutter sounded like it was holding on for dear. More debris flew by. Trees were getting bent past what seemed survivable. People were getting very scared. You realize there's not much to control at that point. You feel resigned to the damage that's happening. I stare at the dancing trees to cope. I'm amazed at their resilience. It's a scary but beautiful dance with the dangerous winds. It's 9pm.
The wind shifts. This happens once the eye of the storm passes. The rains flood the backdoor area and I need to change my air pressure strategy. I try and open the front door instead. Leaves are flying everywhere. More roofing material appear parade through the air. The onslaught continues.
By 10pm we know the worst was over. The winds still raged but the rains seemed to want to take over. I thought better the rains that the winds! I wonder how people who've survived years of wars have coped with watching the devastation happen for so long. It's only been a few hours since mine started and I was already shutting down.
By 11pm, we knew the storm had passed through. And only the morning can reveal the what damage our house took.
