Rainy Season Preparedness

Source: Philippine weather during the months of June to September are peppered with storms and heavy rains. Those of us who have lived here all our lives are used to the wet weather, used to power outages coming and going, used to the occasional leaks on the roof and of course, the ridiculous traffic caused by floods.

Everyone has their own personal ways of dealing with the rainy season, but there are a few basic necessities we need to observe.

1.) One of the sure occurrences in the rainy season are power outages. They occur randomly, always in the most inconvenient of times, and while you never know when they will strike, you know they will happen sooner or later. So be one step ahead of it, and prepare everything you need when electricity goes out. Stock up on candles, matches, batteries, and make sure your emergency lights are charged. Have fans and board games ready too, if it's too early in the night to sleep.

2.) Another thing that comes with the rainy season is the increase in Dengue outbreaks. To protect you and your family, always have a bottle of insect repellant lotion (such as OFF) handy. Be sure to clear out stagnant water from your households, where mosquitoes lay their eggs. Shut your doors and windows at all times to prevent them from coming inside.

3.) Keep a bottle of alcohol handy, for those instances where you get caught by the rain and have to wade through flooded streets to get to your car or house. This is especially required for women who like to wear open toed shoes- as Leptospirosis is a very serious disease. On that matter, try to wear closed shoes if you feel it's going to rain- better safe than sorry.

4.) Check the trees around your house for heavy branches. If there are some directly above your roofs, it would be prudent to cut them off, before a strong wind comes and drops them on your roof. This is one of the leading causes of house damage during storms, so it's best to cut them off before they cut into your house.

5.) Don't throw out those half-gallon ice cream containers! They make for handy leak buckets, for those inopportune times when roof and ceiling leaks occur out of nowhere. Even the sturdiest, most well-designed roofs can get a leak, especially when you don't watch out for #4. When leaks occur, it's best to fix it as soon as possible after the storm and rain passes, to avoid making the holes bigger. Silicone based adhesives such as Vulcasil and Elastosil are handy items to have during the rainy season, as they're the band-aid solution for your leaky roof problems.

6.) Lastly, do your part in preventing floods by not throwing out small trash into the street, which is the leading cause of drain clogs. There are proper waste disposal methods prescribed by the government, so be a good citizen and follow them. Do your part for the country. As Ghandi once famously quoted "We need to be the change we wish to be in the world."

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