On September 26, 2009, we experienced the worst natural disaster in our lifetime. Typhoon Ondoy (international code name Ketsana) was a loud wake up call that has changed my perception of the environment, of how we should live and of life itself.

As a boy, I experienced the devastation wrought by the 1968 earthquake that destroyed the Ruby Tower, a residential building in Manila, killing hundreds. Years later came the 1990 Luzon earthquake that badly hit Baguio City. I witnessed the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and the fury of typhoon Uring in the same year; remember the Ormoc tragedy? Typhoon Milenyo in 2006 was also scary. But for me, nothing beats Ondoy!
(more…)