Ormoc commemorates Ormoc Flood debut
City Mayor Eric C. Codilla (left) his mother Maria (center) and father (right) 4th District of Leyte Rep. Eufrocino M. Codilla Sr., offer wreath of flowers and candles at the mass grave of the 8,000 people that perished during the 30 minutes flash flood in 1991. Behind is city administrator Dr. Dennis Capuyan.
By Roberto C. Dejon
ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Philippines – “Always pray to be prepared when death comes like a thief in the night,” so said Msgr. Bernard Pantin at a mass commemorating the 18th year of the killer flash flood that hit the city in midday on November 5, 1991.
In his homily, Msgr. Pantin, asked those who attended the mass held at the mass grave to always pray so that you are always ready to face death.
“Death could not be prevented because we will all come to that,” said the parish priest of Sts. Peter and Paul parish.
About 8,000 people died when flash flood hit the city at the height of typhoon “Uring” with 450 cubic meters of rain per second at around11:00 in the morning of November 5, 1991.
“When people always pray, they are always prepared when that situation (death) comes like a thief in the night,” Msgr. Pantin pointed out.
He added that the tragedy was already a transgression of climate change. “Who would believe that a flood would occur in Metro Manila?”
Msgr. Pantin emphasized though that people are partly to blame in the Manila tragedy “because they don’t how to throw their garbage properly resulting to congestion of the canals.”
City administrator Dr. Dennis Capuyan, this year’s chairman of the celebration said that this year’s commemoration “is a debut to all the infants and who died in that fateful day of 1991.”
He said that the celebration today brings back to our memories when cascading waters coming from the mountain ran through the city killing thousands of Ormocanons.
“That day might be so painful to the other but it was also the day of reckoning as this resulted to the transformation of the city into what it is today,” he said crediting it to the leadership of the Codilla’s.
For his part, Leyte’s 4th district Representative Eufrocino M. Codilla, said that every time Nov. 5 comes he could not forget the sufferings of the people who died on that day.
Rep. Codilla said he could still remember how he and his children put up a rope to hold on to for people who were carried by the strong floodwaters.
“I could still see the hands of students asking for help as they passed by our house while being carried by strong currents but I could not do anything because I could go their way if I did so,” Codilla recalls.
His and family’s help in the restoration of the city made him a politician from an ordinary businessman. He defeated then Mayor Ma. Victoria Larrazabal-Locsin.
The solon was credited for the construction of P1.2 billion JICA funded modern flood mitigation projects of two river system engulfing the city proper.
City Mayor Eric C. Codilla said that typhoon Uring was carrying 450 cubic meter of rain per second when it hit the city.
He said four more typhoons with that huge downfall of rain occurred but the flood mitigation control dam prevented flooding. He added that typhoon Frank in 2007 was also bringing huge rain but it was typhoon Gilas was the biggest with 750 cubic meter of rain per second.
Mayor Codilla contemplated of holding a rescue Olympics coinciding with the commemoration to boost the attendance which have dwindling over the years.
Rep. Codilla said he could still remember how he and his children put up a rope to hold on to for people who were carried by the strong floodwaters.