MY house was under floodwaters for about 20 hours last Friday because of the devastating combination of Storm Mario and the habagat or southwest monsoon rains. My heart beat fast when I saw my refrigerator, washing machine and many other valuable things floating or submerged around the house. What exacerbated the entire situation was the water coming from the dams, which flowed through my backdoor and got trapped because the front door was sealed close. So while the floodwater in front of my house was only up to the thigh, the water inside my house came up to almost chest-deep. With the help of some neighbors and barangay officials, they were able to push the door a little to let the water out. I locked it early during the flood for fear that my things will again go out of the house and into my urban farm and beyond.