Flight Lieutenant Carangan of the Philippine Air Force knew that a storm was coming and got his men up early to secure equipment at Tacloban airport. Soon the wind became too strong, and they retreated indoors. But then the water started flooding the airport building ˗ and when it surged quickly above waist height, they knew something was seriously wrong.
Carangan and his men punched a hole through the ceiling and climbed up on to the roof. "I told my men to hold on to any piece of equipment that might help them float. And then suddenly, the walls of the building gave way."
Carangan clung to a large triangular wooden beam that had supported the roof. He was swept past familiar buildings and eventually bumped into a coconut tree. "When I looked up, I saw a young boy clinging on the tree. I was afraid the rising water would soon reach him, so I told him to climb down, hang on to the wood, hold on tight and never let it go."
The trick was balancing their makeshift raft. Hanging on to one side of the wood, Carangan used his body weight to keep the seven-year-old above water. "The boy was lying face down on one side of the triangle. I tried to push my side downwards so that the boy's side would be popping out of the sea so that he could breathe."
The two of them spent the next six hours being tossed and turned by the force of the waves. They did not know where they were, what direction they were travelling in, or how long they were there for. As the boy started to develop signs of hypothermia, Carangan tried to keep him awake by talking to him. He found out his name ˗ Miguel ˗ his age and a bit about his family. But he spent most of his time thinking of his own three sons and praying. "I asked God to look after my family if I'm gone."
And then Carangan saw the shape of a mountain. He told the boy they were near land. He started swimming, holding tightly onto the wood until they reached the beach. Once on land, he handed the boy over to a policeman, making sure he would get dry clothes, water and food, and that the authorities would try and reunite him with his family.
Two weeks later the boy came to see him in Tacloban, together with his mother. When she tried to thank him, he explained that he himself felt grateful to him. "I told her I should be the one thanking Miguel, because I believe that if it were not for him, I might not have made it. To help him to survive, I needed to be strong also. I believe he somehow gave me the energy to hold on and to survive."

1) Carangan, an air force officer, ...
2) The force of the wind ...
3) The swiftly rising water ...
4) When they climbed up on the roof, Carangan ...
5) Seeing the boy clinging on a tree, Carangan ...
6) By pushing down his side of the beam, he ...
7) To stop Miguel losing consciousness, he ...
8) During most of their ordeal Carangan ...
9) After their escape Carangan first ...
10) He was convinced that, in a way, he ...