Category: Digital Photography

Pictures From Typhoon Ondoy

Share This Post: pics are worth a thousand words, and these pretty much say it all, with Renzie Baluyut.

For a list of rescue hotlines, links and resources, please click this link.

Help out the victims of Typhoon Ondoy /Kestsana.  Click on this link to find out how you can help today.

Here’s a collection of pics I found all over Facebook- special thanks to Jeremiah Reyes and Jr Lo for initiating the effort to compile all the pics they could and share it for all the world to see.  If you want get an idea of how things were going down in Metro Manila after these events were happening, check out my other post monitoring online chatter through my friends’ and colleagues’ activities on Facebook.

Please take note that I do not own these photos.  I merely share this to give you all an idea of how bad things were when Typhoon Ondoy /Ketsana hit Metro Manila on the day of 26 September 2009.  As mentioned, these pics were already compiled by Jeremiah Reyes and JR Lo.  If you own the pictures, please let me know, so I can give you proper credit, as well as a link on this post.

Satellite image of the storm: Typhoon Ondoy/Ketsana was directly above Metro Manila, ready to drop all that rain down on an unsuspecting city.
A photo shared by Jam Mercado. When the rains hit, ankle-deep floodwaters are a nuisance, but fairly manageable. What people didnt know was that there was a lot more rain coming through, and the results would be disastrous.
A photo shared by Jam Mercado. When the rains hit, ankle-deep floodwaters are a nuisance, but fairly manageable. What people didn't know was that there was a lot more rain coming through, and the results would be disastrous.
Floodwaters starting to build up in Merville, a residential subidivision in Parañaque City. Taken just before noon of the 26th.
Floodwaters starting to build up in Merville, a residential subidivision in Parañaque City. Taken just before noon of the 26th.
An underpass along Makati Avenue is all flooded up. Around noontime on Sept 26, in Makati City.
It doesnt usually flood up in the Central Business District of Makati. So when you see something like an underpass flood up completely, you know somethings gone terribly wrong.
It doesn't usually flood up in the Central Business District of Makati. So when you see something like an underpass flood up completely, you know something's gone terribly wrong.
The corner of Buendia Avenue and the South Expressway usually floods up, yes, but not like this at all. The water was quickly rising up to chest-level, and vehicles unfortunate enough to get stuck there just had to be abandoned.
The corner of Buendia Avenue and the South Expressway usually floods up, yes, but not like this at all. The water was quickly rising up to chest-level, and vehicles unfortunate enough to get stuck there just had to be abandoned.

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10 Ways to Relax on a Rainy Day

by Renzie Baluyut

It’s the rainy season at around this time of year in the Philippines, so you can expect the usual downpour in the afternoons and early evenings.  There’d be times when it would be raining all day, and if you’re really lucky, you’ll find yourself in the path of the occasional tropical storm.

It’s that time of the year when it’s most prudent to bring an umbrella with you everywhere you go.  You take your chances if you’re planning an open-air event, and you always have to plan for contingencies when making out-of-town trips.

When I used to deal with events for the old radio station I was working for, this was the time of the year when we would plan a lot of indoor activities.  I would have a preference for events and promos involving spas, restaurants, hotels, movies and lots of shopping.  Of course, you do your best to come up with more creative executions of all kinds of below-the-line activities.

So if you’re looking for a few ways to just kick back and take it easy on a rainy day- something that doesn’t involve a PC or your workstation in any way possible- here are a few tips that might just hit the spot.

I think people should unplug every so often and read more books for a change. I know I should.
I think people should unplug every so often and read more books for a change. I know I should.

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Renzie Goes To Kawayan Cove

I just came from this most awesome place in Nasugbu, a coastal municipality in Batangas, about 2 hours south of Metro Manila.  Nasugbu is known for its white-sand beach resorts and tropical forests, which therefore makes it a fairly popular summer destination.

Kawayan Cove is an exclusive residential seaside community which covering about 68 hectares worth of prime beach-front real estate.  You have to give credit to the developers for easing in the village among the groves of trees and bamboo, making it as close to the nature as possible by working with the natural contours and landscape.

The result was simply spectacular.  You have family-friendly amenities and wide-open spaces inobtrusively tucked into lush the Batangas forest, with minimal disturbance or alteration to the topography, and a population density well lower than the typical high-end developments in the general area.

A view of Kawayan Cove from the proposed
A view of Kawayan Cove from the road leading down to Bamboo Beach. Beautiful, ainnit?

Anyway, I realize I have a lot to write about this particular visit, so I hope to churn out all my posts over the weekend.  You’ll definitely be reading more from me about my visit to Kawayan Cove.  Highlights of my Kawayan Cove adventure:

Continue reading “Renzie Goes To Kawayan Cove”