[IF VIDEO DOWNLOAD IS SLOW, please turn off HD - mouse over the video and click where it says "HD is On"] Six days after Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana) submerged the Philippine capital of Metro Manila and its outlying provinces, I went with three friends to one of the areas where the flood was most severe to help in the cleanup of a friend's house. This footage was taken in Provident Villages, Marikina, a city northeast of Manila, where muddy floodwaters from a swollen Marikina River nearly submerged even two-story houses. Many residents waited for days on their roofs with no food and water before rescue came. Even after the storm, residents have had to contend with looting, lawlessness, profiteering, and an often inept and self-serving government, apart from the thick layer of mud covering the streets and the remnants of their homes and belongings. An impassioned firsthand account of the situation can be found here: http://armimillare.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/september-26-2009/ This is only one among so many places in similar and worse states; many have received neither media attention nor proper relief, especially in depressed areas and places outside the capital. If you would like to help from here or abroad, please visit these sites for more information: General info - http://sites.google.com/site/ondoymanila/home Donating from abroad - http://www.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=120&type=2&sec=29&aid=7392
