Typhoon Pablo has already hit ground early this morning. According to my research, it's only the second typhoon to make a landfall this year, next to the milder Ofel last month. (No link yet as I'm blogging from my phone; I'll put up the link tomorrow.)
I really prayed hard for everyone who will be affected by the typhoon, but I prayed the hardest for J, who's currently living in a boarding house along the coast in Surigao del Sur. You read it right. If there's anywhere you don't want to be stuck in during a typhoon, it's coastal Surigao.
I was really worried last night because J was not replying to my messages. I tried texting his younger sister, who assured me everything is fine. I wanted to convince myself, too, so I prayed. And I was able to sleep soundly.
Thank God he texted early this morning, or I would have been a wreck. It turns out they had they underwent "preemptive evacuation." In other words, they were forced to leave the place way before the typhoon hit ground. Because of this prompt action, there are no casualties in their area.
I wanted to berrate J for not going home yesterday like I told him. Instead, he stubbornly stayed for work. Of course, work was cancelled - duh. But I was just thankful that nothing bad happened. And that he followed my advice to charge his phone and pack his things ahead of time.
I'm lucky enough to be living in Davao City, where the geographical barriers (a.k.a Apo) make it nearly impossible for typhoons to create much damage. And I'm even luckier to be living in a high place that never gets flooded. The only damage I experienced was the power outage that lasted for about 2 hours.
But the luckier I felt, the more I wished J was just staying here. If he was, he wouldn't have to experience evacuation for the first time. It's really one of the cons of LDRs, among many others. You pace back and forth because you don't have any idea what's happening, and you couldn't do anything about it, and all you want to do is be where the other person is so he would know he isn't alone. But work is there, and we need to work, so we should just wait it out.
But we are safe. In the end, the way both J and I are super safe makes me really grateful to God. Also, both of our families are safe. Prayers really work, guys. So let's pray even harder because Pablo hasn't left the Philippine area of responsibility yet. If I remember it correctly, it's not moving in the northwest of Mindanao and southern part of Visayas. More prayers, everyone. To everyone affected by the typhoon, please keep safe.
And for everyone who has a loved one living in the affected areas, pray and have faith. Good night, everyone.
