Tropical storm Ondoy promotes 'bayanihan' online | Features | Techie.com.ph
5:49 PM | Friday | 30 July 2010

For all the atrocious things bagyong Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) has brought with him during his visit here, there's still one thing it has inadvertently proven: that bayanihan is alive and well in the Philippines. Yes, even bayanihan on the Web.

On sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Plurk, for example, calls for help from fellow Filipinos abound:

• "HELP PLS!!! in laws namin binaha na sa NORTHVIEW 1 SUBD. SA BATASAN HILLS!! anyone who knows kung sino pwede maka-rescue sa kanila and other residents, pls do so! nasa 2nd flr na sila. iba nilang kapitbahay nasa bubong na...tulong lang pls po..." – P. Carbonell
• "Gutom na daw kapatid ko na nastranded sa UST building. wala daw sila pagkain doon." – D. Salasalan
• "We're 3 families, in attic of 32 Melbourne Street, Marikina. Stranded, w/o food & water, w/ an infant  several children. Prayers please." – L. Figueroa
• "My parents are trapped at our house. Nothing to eat!!!! Refs are floating, no electricity!" – J. Teh
• "Pls help spread news to ndcc and others to rescue people trapped at marcos hway near jollibee shell station near masinag. My sister is trapped there. Floodwaters rising. Thanks." – G. Mercado 
  

And there was no shortage of people trying to help:

• "Tito Noy and Sen. Mar launched a relief goods mobilization operation to help everyone affected by the floods. For those who can help, the drop off area for relief goods is Balay-expo centro-edsa corner gen macarthur (in front of fruit section of farmers market ) araneta center cubao q c . Please contact Ms Clare Amador at mobile no 9285205508 for more details." – Jiggy Aquino Cruz 
• "Those in Ateneo: Please do not go home. We have prepared the dormitory (loc 5930) and faculty (loc 4036) housing if you're stranded." – Fr. G. Gonzales 
• "Taguig emergency hotline: 1623; Bureau of Fire Protection Region III(Central Luzon) Hotline (045)9634376." – Miriam Quiambao
• "On air now on Jam 88.3. Tweet us @rockedradio or post msg here if u want us to announce anything on air. Tell ur parents u're okay or inquire abt them. Call. Text us areas where u need assistance, we can call local officials, konsehals to your area." – Gang Badoy
• "PLS SEND FULL ADDRESS of stranded friends/family to Sen. Dick Gordon 09178997898/0938444BOYS [Red Cross]." – Paolo Lorenzana
  

There's even a Rescue InfoHub Central on Google Spreadsheets and an Ondoy situation map for Metro Manila.

According to Yahoo!, tropical storm Ondoy has so far killed five people and left thousands of people stranded on rooftops in Manila. If you're not from the metro and would like to see what this bagyo has done to us, check out this site. You can also watch this video from YouTube user dambz24:

Pretty devastating. Then again, even if Ondoy has unleashed its fury, it's still good to know that at a time like this, we can still count on each other for help – this time with an online twist.

Image via Photobucket

UPDATE: You think the world is getting less friendly? You might want to change your mind after watching this (thanks for the link, Mr. Armand Frasco!):