From The Age

Philippine man loses own life after saving dozens from floods

An 18-year-old construction worker braved rampaging floods in the Philippines to save more than 30 people, but ended up sacrificing his life in a last trip to rescue a baby girl and her mother who were being swept away on a styrofoam box.

Family members and people who Muelmar Magallanes saved have hailed the young man a hero, as his body lay in a coffin at a makeshift evacuation centre near their destroyed Manila riverside village.

Mr Magallanes was at home on Saturday with his family when tropical storm Ketsana unleashed the heaviest rains in more than 40 years on the Philippine capital and surrounding areas.

SEPT 26 2009 PICTURES, RETIRO AREA QC by CARLO NASOL, MD

At first the family, long used to heavy rains, paid little attention to the storm.

But Mr Magallanes and his father quickly decided to evacuate the family once they realised the river 800 metres away had burst its banks.

With the help of an older brother, Mr Magallanes tied a string around his waist and attached it one-by-one to his three younger siblings, whom he took to higher ground. Then he came back for his parents.

But Mr Magallanes, a strong swimmer, decided to go back for neighbours trapped on rooftops.

He ended up making many trips, and eventually saved more than 30 people from drowning, witnesses and survivors said.

Tired and shivering, Mr Magallanes was back on higher ground with his family when he heard Ms Penalosa screaming as she and her baby were being swept away on the polystyrene box they were using in an attempt to cross the swift currents.

He dived back in after the mother and daughter, who were already a few metres away and bobbing precariously among the debris floating on the brown water.

“I didn’t know that the current was so strong. In an instant, I was under water. We were going to die,” said Ms Penalosa, her eyes welling with tears and voice choking with emotion.

“Then this man came from nowhere and grabbed us. He took us to where the other neighbours were, and then he was gone,” Ms Penalosa said.

Ms Penalosa and other witnesses said an exhausted Mr Magallanes was simply washed away amid the torrent of water.

Neighbours found his body on Sunday, along with 28 others who perished amid Manila’s epic flooding. The official death toll stands at 100 with 32 missing.

Standing next to his coffin, Mr Magallanes’ parents paid tribute to their son.

“He always had a good heart,” said his father, Samuel.

“We had already been saved. But he decided to go back one last time for the girl.”

His mother, Maria Luz, wept as she described her son as incredibly brave.

“He saved so many people, but ended up not being able to save himself.”

AFP

I woke up Saturday morning and the power was still out. My phone died the night before so I had no way of contacting my friends and relatives who were probably worried sick about me. Out of the many areas in the metro, three  have been the focus of the press because of the devastating effects Typhoon Ondoy has caused:  Rizal, Provident Village, and Marikina. I’ve lived in Marikina for as long as I can remember. The waters were like rapids outside our house. It entered our garage and, to all our relief, stayed there. The other houses down our street have worse stories.

After lunch, I took my bike and pedaled all the way to Riverbanks to look at the damage. The waters already subsided but you could clearly see on the walls of buildings and houses how high the waters reached. One can only imagine the fear a lot of these people felt knowing that their homes were slowly being swallowed by the floodwaters.  They all need our help.

Aside from all the mud and debris, the first thing I saw was this car on the corner.

It’s impaled on a steel post. I can only imagine how strong the waters were to have been able to hoist it that high.

I decided to bike near the houses that were just a few meters away from Marikina River. Everything was a shade of brown.

Everyone on this street had all their belongings laid out on the muddy sidewalk. This was about 20 meters away from the riverbank.

Traffic was barely moving as whole families were walking away from the flood.

Cars were totally wrecked and soaked with mud. I passed one in the middle of the street lying on its side.

I tried to enter Riverbanks but the people told me I’d get stuck in the mud. Restaurant windows were destroyed by raging waters. Some were looted.

It felt like I was in a scene from Cloverfield when all the people were walking away from the destruction.

Marikina River swallowed up the banks.

There is no riverbank to speak of.

This metal structure is located on the riverbank.

The debris hanging from it is an erie sign of up to where the waters rose. It probably touched the bottom of the bridge.

The barge that also serves as a bridge to both sides of the river was washed ashore.

Just a crumpled and twisted pile of metal.

Came across this barefooted lady carrying her prized possession: a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Evacuees being helped down from a truck.

I moved in closer and realized that one of them was a baby. It was drizzling and they were all getting wet.

Went to Provident Village. It was virtually unpassable with fire trucks, news vans, and people clogging the entrance.

A pumpboat covered in mud was outside the gate. This one probably contained a drowned body at some point.

Rescuers were taking a break.

Then I passed by Blue Wave Mall.

Just one of the many establishments that was totally wrecked by the water. You can see on their windows up to where the waters reached. Everything inside soaked and muddied.

Another victim of Ondoy. Found what looks to be a dog lying in a creek.

The only happy thing I saw was this group of kids ecstatic over a sack of toys that washed over to their shanty, oblivious to the destruction around them.

How and where to help:  List of verified relief centers for ‘Ondoy’ victims

There was one night at work where we ended at around 11 at night from a studio shoot in the freezing cold Summit Studios. While the adjacent studio was blaring with Beyonce, Rihanna, and T-Pain for Cospomolitan’s October cover shoot with a lady I would describe as “the one with ginormous legs,” the photographer, art director, and myself were silently crouched over a small plastic platform surrounded by lights, taking pictures of a phone and a book. I was freezing and feeling pangs of hunger, and the only thing I had in my bag was bottled water and a banana I had put there before leaving for work in the morning.

This one’s for Mac World’s cover. I wish our studio looks like theirs.