The recent onslaught of Super Typhoon 'Odette' almost left our family in Visayas homeless.

Looking at the photo that NASA had captured, it almost devoured the whole Philippines. It mainly targets that Visayas and Mindanao islands, leaving Luzon worried for their families at the mentioned areas. Although we (people in Luzon) are not included on the primary tract of Odette, we still couldn't sleep tight at night knowing how strong this typhoon was.

A Category 5 typhoon had made an entrance to our country. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Category 5 typhoon ranges from having a 157 mph or higher speed. Judging by its speed, it really has an adverse impact.

NOAA suggests that typhoons that fall under this type will bring catastrophic damages. This includes:

• A high percentage that homes will be destroyed (which involves total roof failure and wall collapse.)
• Trees will fall, and power poles will be down, isolating residential areas, and hindering the transport of vehicles.
• Power outages will possibly last for weeks, to even worse, months.
• Most of the areas affected will probably be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

We are so used to typhoons, and I think most of us became complacent with this one. My Lola refused to go to the evacuation center not knowing that a few hours from that, half of our roof would be gone.

The beautiful garden my lola made months ago was wrecked. Instead of the bountiful bloom of flowers my Lola was dreaming about, all she could salvage were some damaged pots and a drastic land.

This is a shot sent by my father through messenger. According to him, this picture is from our family there. This scene were just 5 houses away from our home. It's really devastating to see and witness.

Disclaimer: This shot is duly credited to Dave Barcoma Bingkian of Kalaw Studios, retrieved from "Bayan mo, Ipatrol mo" news of ABS-CBN. I have no intention of stealing this shot. I just want you guys to have an overview of how much damage Typhoon Odette brought.

The Philippines is so used to water calamities. We are being surrounded by waters, and we're in the area of Pacific Ring of Fire, so disasters like this are really prominent in areas like ours.

I'm hoping that our government will implement an effective and efficient program for typhoon preparedness. I’m not pointing out seminars and the utilization of news outlets to deliver typhoon news. I’m talking about technological advances, initiating nationwide green projects, and many more.

Christmas season is certainly a joyful time for most. It’s the season of family gatherings, festive lights, Christmas trees, and gift-giving. But, I can't seem to get the idea of fully enjoying while our family in Visayas will celebrate theirs with a wrecked home.

We should also remember that this season can bring sadness as well. This year, the Philippines had been devastated by a super typhoon. I'm hoping that we can arrange a donation drive program just like what we did last year, but all of my co-volunteers are still having their schools until 23rd of December.

A year ago, we experienced typhoon Ulysses that destroyed the Northern part of the Philippines, including the homes of our family there, too. Gladly, we recovered. But I'm afraid that this typhoon that destroyed the Southern part of our country left us in a more tragic state. This is the saddest Christmas we've ever had and it breaks my heart to see how Mother Nature has dealt us this cruel blow.