We Were Rescued From a Lahar!
OCTOBER 1, 1995, proved to be a day unlike any other that the Garcia family had ever experienced. The Garcias are active Witnesses of Jehovah, and their home was located in a subdivision in Cabalantian, Bacolor, in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. Although their home was near areas experiencing Mount Pinatubo’s lahars, it had not been directly affected. Cabalantian was being protected by government-built dikes designed to stem the lahar. But things were due to change rapidly.
A severe tropical storm had dumped 8.5 inches [216 mm] of rain on Mount Pinatubo. In the early hours of the morning, the telephone rang at the Garcia residence. It was someone who had dialed a wrong number, but the caller said that a dike had broken and that the family should prepare for a flood.
The Ordeal Begins
Nonato Garcia, father of the family and presiding overseer of the Villa Rosemarie Congregation, relates: “On Sunday morning before five o’clock, water started to rise around our home.
“I thought we were only going to have a flood of water, so we started to carry our belongings upstairs. But after ten in the morning, I saw that lahar mud was mixed in with the water. The flow kept getting higher and stronger until it was heavy and was bringing boulders along with it. We climbed up on the roof.
“Later, cars and even houses were being dragged by the flow. One house that had been hit by a big boulder collapsed and was carried away. Its roof was deposited near our house by the lahar. There were people on the roof. I called to them and encouraged them to transfer to the roof of our house. To do so, they grabbed on to a cable that was tossed to them. This was tied to my body, and I pulled them across one by one. More people transferred from other roofs that were being covered. All the while, the rain continued.
“In the afternoon helicopters started flying over. But none came down to rescue us, even though we were waving frantically. We thought there must be people in greater need, and they were getting them first. I didn’t think we would be picked up quickly, for there were many stranded on roofs of houses.
“Prayer is a very important thing during that kind of situation. Even when in great danger, after praying you don’t feel fearful. We did not pray that Jehovah perform a miracle, but we asked for whatever his will was, recognizing that any person can be affected by a calamity. But I did ask for strength, courage, and wisdom. All of this helped us to face the situation at hand.”
Nonato’s wife, Carmen, concurred: “What my husband says about prayer is really true. I tend to feel very nervous when in a situation where my loved ones’ lives are endangered. When I saw that the roof was filling up with lahar mud and was being hit by boulders, I told my husband: ‘It looks as though there is no hope left for us.’ But he encouraged me, saying: ‘Let’s pray.’”
Nonato continued: “At four in the afternoon, the flow of the lahar was still very strong. The house was being hit by large rocks. Lahar debris had covered about half the roof. I began to think that evening would soon be falling and that it would be very difficult to travel. So while it was still light, we decided to start moving.
“I tried throwing a chair into the lahar mud to see if it would sink, and I even got on it, but it did not sink. So I got a long piece of lumber to poke the mud. I used this to find the areas hard enough to walk on. In this way we, along with a number of our neighbors, were able to start our way through the mud. There were 26 of us altogether.
“We headed for a much higher roof in the distance. Using the lumber, we kept poking the mud to find where we could step. In places where it was still very soft, we crawled.”
With tears in her eyes, Carmen explains: “At some places we were right at the edge of the lahar flow and had to walk sideways on very narrow ground. At one point, I sank down to my chest and said to my husband: ‘I can’t continue. I’ll die.’ But he said: ‘No, you can do it. Get up.’ With Jehovah’s help, we kept moving.”
Nora Mengullo, a relative of the family, adds: “At places where it was too soft to crawl, we pushed ourselves on our backs with our feet. At times, we sank in too much, but we helped pull one another along, especially the children.”
Rescue—At Last!
Nonato goes on: “While we laboriously crawled along the edge of the lahar, a helicopter flew over and saw our precarious situation—not on a roof, but in the middle of lahar debris. One of our companions held her eight-month-old child up high, hoping the rescuers would see our plight. They came down to get us. We had the children and the women go first, since all of us could not fit.
“Finally, we also were picked up and brought to an evacuation center. The people there could not give us any clothes to wear, even though all our clothes were full of mud from the lahar. I told them my family would not go with the others into the evacuation area, as we wanted to go to a Kingdom Hall. When we got there, we were immediately clothed, fed, and given other help. More brothers from the congregation arrived, and they too helped us.”
Carmen adds: “Even though we could not hope for help from other sources, we felt the blessing of our Christian brotherhood.”
Although their home was covered over by the lahar, it is gratifying to know that they and their three children, Lovely, Charmy, and Charly, survived the ordeal along with all the other Witnesses in the area.
[Pictures on page 23]
The second story of the Garcia’s partially excavated home
Nonato Garcia’s household in front of their buried home