Stranded In Town...

 

Janet…Swallowed by the waters of the bay...

Narrated by Yolanda Sosa

Written by Jason Quintanilla

 

Yolanda Sosa was a 10 year old child when she first saw the real force of nature. 

Yoli, as we knew Yolanda, was one of the youngest daughters of Lucia and Sabas Sosa. They lived in a tiny thatched roof, plastered house along with her four other siblings; Celia (1yr), Efrain (10yrs), Rosilia (11yrs), and Paulina (15yrs). They knew nothing about hurricanes, in fact they only knew of Chaak Norte(strong cold Fronts). The Sosa family didn’t own a radio, and probably no one in Sarteneja did at that time.  Despite not having a radio, they knew that a storm was on their way. 

 “It is a simple stupid Chaak Norte”, commented my father. In the community there were rumors that a very strong hurricane named Janet was on its way. What was a hurricane? My father was unaware of the term “hurricane” as it was the first time he was hearing about it. As a child, I didn’t know either, but I was anxious to know. In fact I was excited about it; I was patiently waiting for the first storm, hurricane or Chaak Norte as my father calls it. My father was confident that our small ‘shack’ was sturdy enough to withstand a ‘storm’ like Janet. For that reason we didn’t make preparations to leave for the nearest shelter which was a stone thrown away. 

The wind rushed across the bay as a dark sheet of clouds moved from the Eastern side of the peninsula to the West. The birds were flying away from Sarteneja as if they could sense that whatever was on the horizon would be terrible. The weather that morning was questionable, showers now and then, nothing to worry about according to my father. Then there was a calm before the storm, a sign that things will be terrible. The excitement was unbearable at this time, I was about to explode with excitement as I waited for the storm of my life. As my father rocked back and forth in his chair, the night came slowly. The rains and winds began intensifying as well.

The house was still standing at the beginning, but it was too early to underestimate the real force of Janet.  The storm gained strength, things were now getting serious. We could now hear the trees outside dancing limbo trying to grab our tiny house. My mother was convincing my father to go to the shelter but he was stubborn and insisted on us staying. The water was coming in through the many openings on the plastered walls and our thatch roof was slowly falling apart. Suddenly a mighty gust shoved our shack away, we were left there unprotected, without a roof and walls around us.  There was no time to grab the little things we had, we all raced against the heavy rain that was hammering us like hailstone. The winds were stronger than the Chaak Nortes that we knew. The plan was to run but in reality with the gusty winds we could barely walk.. We were trying not to get hit by flying objects, our only goal was to reach safely. The powerful gusts continued non-stop like a fierce wheel without control.

We were lucky enough to reach the shelter on time. Everybody was there, talking about this strong storm. I must admit that my father underestimated the real force of Janet. The sounds outside were so loud and terrifying that it almost sounded like a thousand bulldozers destroying everything on its path. The water started to filter inside, soon most of the building was full with water. That’s when the villagers ran all the way to the back of the building where the floor was a little higher. The water continued rising and now it was on my knees. At that moment a group of people were trying to get into the shelter. These people were crying and screaming their guts out. I didn’t want to imagine what they were going through. The villagers quickly assisted the traumatized family. The people inside were afraid and wondered what was happening. It was a little after their arrival that we got to know their child died due to the falling of their roof. As the wind became intense the idea of what a hurricane was, slowly revealed  itself. Rapidly the water went from my knees up to my waist and from my waist up to my neck.

Now everybody was standing on benches trying to hold on to their loved ones. The flashlights and lamps were the only source of light we had, some got wet and the room became even darker. The water seemed not to stop leaking in, therefore it forced the villagers to put the younger children in the attic. Everyone was crying and screaming because of the horrific events happening at that time. The hurricane I was waiting patiently for was now becoming my worst nightmare. My parents were standing motionless on those benches with water reaching their necks trying to hold on to us up in the attic. The noise outside was horrible and terrifying, but nothing could be compared to the weeping in the building. The weight was too much and the attic was slowly breaking apart. Some kids fell in the muddy water and were hurriedly pulled by their parents. In the blink of an eye, the wind started to blow in a Southwesterly direction. “The water will soon go down, the wind has changed!” commented a villager. It was almost daytime when the water found its way out of the building.

Everything was wet, and we were all in shock. I thought my life was going to end that night.  That night we couldn’t sleep, everybody was fighting for their lives, our community was swallowed by the waters of the bay. But that night, at least we had a roof over our heads. The night was finally over; the village was completely washed away.  The only building left standing was the shelter we were in. The community turned from a forested green community to a vast dead Savannah covered with mud and debris all over. There was no potable water, and the ancient wells became salty as it became contaminated with the sea water. Later that morning, huge metal birds began invading our sky, mom told me they were planes and they were here to help. We received food but we had to eat them along with salty water that week, until the wells went back to normal. This was the night that I will never forget, a night that will haunt me forever.