Short Story~The Storm

Here is a story that I wrote recently on a topic of a past O level paper. Please keep in mind while reading it that this is the third draft of the story.
Feedback would be taken seriously and appreciated.

An instantaneous splash of water landing on the deck woke up the sailor. He leapt out of bed and hurried up to the deck, hoping that all was well.

The situation was worse than he had anticipated. It was raining cats and dogs, accompanied by a very strong gale. The roar of thunder indicated the beginning of a storm.

The bottom of the ship was already flooded about six inches deep with water and its level was increasing with the rain. The sailor quickly rang the siren for help and grabbed some buckets. Sleepy-eyed men came out of their cabins to help and he directed them towards the flooded area, where he handed out buckets and yelled out instructions. His voice was barely audible over the heavy rain and thunder, but they seemed to understand. They went to work at once, filling buckets with rainwater and pouring the heavy buckets out into the sea. The job was extremely hard and the weather made it more difficult. The men were dressed in nothing more than their night clothes and were drenched thoroughly in the first few minutes. The sudden emergency alarm hadn’t given them any time to dress up in something warmer.

It was a fight between men and nature’s strong forces combined. The heavy rain, strong wind, and violent movements of the sea seemed destined to knock out the ship. All the men could do was to have good hopes and keep on working. The sailor worked with them, praying desperately to God for help, and filling bucket after bucket of water and pouring it in the sea.

It was very important to empty out all the water from the ship, because if the water filled up inside it, the ship could sink. But because of the constant rain, the water would fill up as soon as it had been emptied out.

The night wore on, and they worked harder still, wondering, how much longer would this fragile craft of wood resist the hostile world of sky and sea? The storm seemed to go on forever.

But then, at last, the rain started to slow down. It seemed as if the clouds were running out of water! Bit by bit, the water pressure decreased, and finally, the rain stopped.

The men were overjoyed! Their hard work had been rewarding: the ship was in perfect shape with hardly any damage. With God’s mercy, it had managed to escape a violent sea storm and was now floating on calmer waters.

The sailor congratulated them all on their efforts and said that without their help, they couldn’t possibly have saved the ship and themselves.

After his small speech, they all returned to their cabin to change their clothes and snuggle into their warm, dry beds.