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After the Storm: Stories of Ondoy

by Elbert Or (Editor)

2.67 of 5 stars 2.67 · rating details · 3 ratings · 3 reviews

The pieces in After the Storm were mostly written in the midst of and immediately after the typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009. The writers share their experiences of the typhoon, their insights and reflections, their hopes and aspirations. Long after the news media has moved on to the next big headline, After the Storm hopes to stand as written record to remind everyone th...more

Newsprint, 128 pages

Published 2010 by Anvil Publishing, Inc.

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Jan 10, 2011 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: local

You check the news: almost everyday, there is a city or a country that is flooded. Currently, it is Queensland in Australia. Last week, somewhere in India. Last month, I saw footages of flood in San Diego, California. This kind of news lands in the front page of your newspaper normally because either that area did not normally get flooded before, the magnitude of its impact or record-breaking statistics. Statistics in terms of either the unusually wide area of the flood, the number of families o...more You check the news: almost everyday, there is a city or a country that is flooded. Currently, it is Queensland in Australia. Last week, somewhere in India. Last month, I saw footages of flood in San Diego, California. This kind of news lands in the front page of your newspaper normally because either that area did not normally get flooded before, the magnitude of its impact or record-breaking statistics. Statistics in terms of either the unusually wide area of the flood, the number of families or people affected or the number of fatalities.

The Philippines had it share of this on September 26, 2009 when Metro Manila its neighboring provinces got devastated with the typhoon Ondoy that killed 140 people, destroyed billions of properties and affected - physically or emotionally - many many Filipinos.

The above is taken in the afternoon of that day in Marikina City. This has never never happened in the past.

In this book edited by Elbert Or, a graduate of Interdisciplinary Studies from Ateneo de Manila University, 20 writers contributed their literary pieces on Ondoy: either their insights, their stories before, during and after the flood or even some suggestions on how to prevent similar incidents in the future. I read this book one story at a time so it took me awhile to finish the whole book. I thought that it was the right approach because I was able to enjoy and reflect on each piece and I would say that most of them was really enjoyable and/or insightful.

From the floating Rilke books in The Last by Ruel S. De Vera to the blow-by-blow first-hand story of a Marikina flood victim, MXV Ong in his Filipino piece, Nakapanlulumo, I marvelled each story and asked myself: Where are these writers? They are so good! Why are they not writing full-lenght novels? Even the pieces by the only two celebrities are worth spending time: then Senator Mar Roxas highlighted the bayanihan spirit in his piece Ondoy and the Bayanihan Spirit while the singer Jim Paredes was touched by the gestures of his daughter Erica in reaching out for the victims in No "Me" or No "Other". He even quoted this from Muso Kokushi:

"There is ultimately no means of safeguarding anything in this world; anything you gain can be lost, destroyed, or taken away. For this reason if you make the acquisition and retention of goods or status you aim in life, this is a way to anxiety and sorrow."

Putting the anxiety and traffic on that day, my family and I was, fortunately, not affected. Anxiety yes, because at its highest, the edge of the flood was 4 houses away from us. Traffic yes, because we were attending my mother-in-law's 80th birthday party in restaurant located in the higher portion of Quezon City. However, no one will ever be sure that this cannot happen again and when it does, I know I and my family might be affected. So, aside from being ready and taking necessary precautions, I will keep this book to remind me of the above Muso Kokushi quote. It is really really true and it reminds me of what is really more important in this life: those that cannot be stored in this earth.(less)

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May 20, 2012 Ina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, filipino

I'm giving this two stars because it frustrates my logic. Back in 2009, the year of Ondoy, I was fifteen years old, and was fully lucid during the entire drama and the unfolding of the events in the national tragedy. Even if my family did not suffer from the floods, we had refugees in our home for a month, and I was in constant contact with some who were dispatched out of their homes. I heard the increasingly alarmed voices on AM radio, I saw the pictures in the television and newspapers, hell,...more I'm giving this two stars because it frustrates my logic. Back in 2009, the year of Ondoy, I was fifteen years old, and was fully lucid during the entire drama and the unfolding of the events in the national tragedy. Even if my family did not suffer from the floods, we had refugees in our home for a month, and I was in constant contact with some who were dispatched out of their homes. I heard the increasingly alarmed voices on AM radio, I saw the pictures in the television and newspapers, hell, I was there when the rains poured and poured and didn't stop. Three years ago, I experienced a national trauma, a topic which I conversed in with countless people over the next few weeks, a memory that I learned from and ruminated on and tried to reconcile myself with, just like the millions of Filipinos who will forevermore associate the term, "Ondoy," with a chill in their spines and hearts.

Ondoy is something that will always, always garner stories and emotions. It was more than just a typhoon--it was a colossal drama, something that you can't make a book one without destruction, rescue, hope, fear, death. It's just impossible because Ondoy was just that, and so much more.

But After the Story: Stories of Ondoy is a collection of grade 7 essays crammed into a published compilation. I will admit that some are pretty well-written with slivers of the true fear during Ondoy. But they are few. On the whole, the book seems to have reduced Ondoy to blandness, as if the creation of this book was a chore that could be sloppily performed. The plan for this book is good; the execution is lacking. The essays gave me none of the fear for the lives of my fellowmen. It barely brought me back to those days when I wondered when the rain would stop, or if Manila would ever be the same again, or if, this time, after the bayanihan, the country would start to change for the better.

When people say Ondoy, they think of stories. Everyone has their own. There are thousands of stories, and even more ways of telling them. You don't need award-winning writers to tell stories. You just want to read the experiences that regular people went through. That was the tragedy, and at the same time, the beauty of Ondoy. I can't find reason why After the Storm missed it completely.

When people say Ondoy, they think of the entire Metro Manila landscape covered in water, trash hanging on to meters-high electrical wires, people playing basketball in the flood. When I think of Ondoy, I recall the treasure trove of amazing photographs that show us the despair of loss, the unity of villagers, the potency looming within each new low pressure area. This 'Ondoy' tribute gives none of that. There are a few pictures, but they are painfully mediocre and are three-by-four inch black and white icons on a bare page.

Don't even get me started on the front and back cover. It is shameful.

At the end of the book, all I can say is sayang. The compilation could have been amazing, something that people would want to have for their own, something that they feel they had been part of. I just want to turn back time and barge into the editor's office and tell him to redo the entire project. Nonetheless, I give two little stars: one, because despite the bleh and the fillers, there are some shining pieces of writing in here; and two, because all efforts to preserve collective national memory is always an act of service. In terms of execution though--producing a piece of work that effectively mirrors the trauma that Filipinos went through, with photos and a cover and everything else that is good in a book--as for that, well, I guess we're still wading in the flood, trying to find our way.
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Sep 25, 2011 Tina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, filipino, non-fiction

Two years ago, on this day, I woke up and found it was raining hard. It was a normal occurrence, of course, since it was the rainy season at that time. I was all ready to snuggle down into bed and enjoy a rainy bed weather, thanking that I was safe and sound with my family, at home.

Then this happened:

It was two years ago today that Typhoon Ketsana, locally own as Ondoy, hit our country, submerging Metro Manila underwater. It should have been a normal day, especially for us since it has never flo...more

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About Elbert Or

Elbert Or graduated from the Ateneo Manila University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. He is currently working as a freelance writer and illustrator for various publications and organizations.

He still dabbles in comics creation on occasion, with a number of comics endeavors on his slate, including Cherry Blossom High (as writer), Nautilus Comics‘ teen-oriented comic book series Cast (as...more

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