PLATTSBURGH — An ocean away, Zhellah Punzalan could only wait for news of loved ones swept up in the heaviest rains the Philippines have seen since 1967.

An international student at Plattsburgh State, Punzalan said she felt helpless as news of friends and family remained grim late last month.

"We're kind of used to rain but not strong rains," she said.

When it rains here, she said, she doesn't see any need for an umbrella — it never compares to the kind of rain commonplace on the islands.

When hearing from her sister that the typhoon was serious, she couldn't quite believe it, as residents of the country expect somewhere in the range of 20 typhoons a year.

This one was not an ordinary rainstorm, however.

"They felt the world was coming to an end," Punzalan said.

She had experienced unseasonable rain before coming to Plattsburgh, but it was nothing in comparison to last month's disaster. She feels that global warming is the most likely contributor to such strange weather.

"'It's just 0.1 percent of the last typhoon you experienced,'" Punzalan was told by her sister.

Marikina, a town situated right on a river, saw many deaths as a result of being unprepared.

"There were so many people who died because they only had two rubber boats," she said of the town.

She hopes this disaster will raise awareness among Filipinos, opening their eyes to the necessity of being prepared for the future.

"My sister was telling me she felt the Philippines is united again" as a result of citizens struggling together during the disaster.

While Punzalan may have been thousands of miles removed from the floods, the disaster nearly claimed part of her life as well.

On that fateful day, her father went out riding on his motorcycle, bag slung over his back, as he often did.

"He got caught in the flash flood. He was trying to fight the current."

Using telephone poles, treetops and rooftops, he did his best to stay above the water and make his way to dry land.

"He was missing for two days," Punzalan said. "I was trying to be calm. I said, 'Hey, it's just rain.'"

After a weekend of waiting and wondering, she finally received a text the following Monday from her sister reading, "'Dad' with all exclamation points."

"He was so wounded," Punzalan said.

One of the big concerns she had was that her father, a diabetic, would not be able to get the treatment needed while lost amidst the destruction.

When he made it to land, he walked what Punzalan said is approximately a 45-to-60-minute drive back home to Caloocan City — looking "like a beggar," his tattered clothes and mud-covered body was a true testament to his resolve during the crisis.

Nearly 300 people were less fortunate, however, their lives being claimed by Typhoon Ketsana.

"There are millions of people that are displaced," Punzalan said. "Most of the people that I know, from what I hear, have nothing."

She said some of the homes she spent time in only months ago are now destroyed and the families forced to stay in shelters or with friends.

"Filipinos are naturally happy people; they try to look beyond the tragedy," she said.

One of the messages she hears families relating to each other is "at least we have each other."

With the Philippines already a Third World country suffering greatly under the worldwide recession, Punzalan said, this tragedy is going to make it even harder to bounce back. As a result, disaster preparation may become one of the central issues in next year's presidential election.

"I'd like to think it's a wake-up call for politicians."

The majority of relief efforts are conducted by private organizations, rather than the government, she said. Many citizens are reluctant to donate to governmental efforts, as they feel the money will end up in the pockets of greedy politicians.

Here in Plattsburgh, Punzalan wants to raise awareness and funds for the relief effort. Through Club International at Plattsburgh State, she soon hopes to have either a coin drive or some other kind of fundraising event.

She is waiting for the club's next meeting to find out the decision.

Punzalan is asking any individual or business with the means to help the fundraising efforts to contact her at 564-6277 or e-mail: zhellahjezreel_punzalan@yahoo.com.

"It's hard to do it on your own."